Many commuters rely on auto-rickshaws for their daily commute. In this kind of short trips, everyday commuters need to guide the driver to their destination via the shortest route or they need to negotiate heavily. However, starting from today, there is a solution for all these issues as commuters in Delhi will now be able to see a new public transport mode in Google Maps- Auto Rickshaws. Selecting this mode will let commuters view suggested routes for the ride as well as the estimated auto-rickshaw fares.

Commenting on the launch of the feature, Vishal Dutta, Product Manager, Google Maps said, “The idea of this feature is to incorporate one of most commonly used modes of public transport in Google Maps and share transparent information about the price of the journey. Currently, for an unfamiliar journey, commuters often overpay and don’t have an idea about the distance or best route. The feature will also help the users plan their journey better, so they could look at the expected cost of the auto-rickshaw ride and decide whether they want to take it all the way, or perhaps take a different mode of transport instead — like a bus or the metro.”

This new feature can be found within the ‘public transport and ‘cab’ modes in Google Maps and is based on the expected trip route and the official fare model shared by the Delhi Traffic Police. The feature will be available on Google Maps for Android and users will have to update Google Maps to the latest version which is v 10.6. Users can now search for a destination, then tap on directions and go to the public transport tab. Commuters will be able to see the autorickshaw result in the ‘Also Consider’ section. Once they select the option they will be able to see traffic information, as well as the estimated fare for the trip.

Currently, Google Maps provides over a billion kilometres worth of transit results every day and has scheduled over 3 million public transit stops worldwide. Google Transit is a feature of Google Maps designed to improve the experience of public transport modes. This new feature is also expected to arrive in other cities in India soo, following Delhi.

An optimist to the core, I always see the glass half full. I like to take life as it comes and not to become too serious on the harsher aspects of it. Apart from this, I am an Engineer, a Blogger & a Researcher....

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