Some 25 million people use Google Maps every month in Spain alone. This is one of the figures that the company released a few months ago to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its arrival in our country, and which shows its great popularity. But do people really know all its possibilities? Do they know that you can create personalized maps or use it to remember where you parked? These are the best tricks.
Choosing the route that saves fuel
The quickest and easiest way to get Google Maps to offer the route that saves the most fuel is to go to your profile (you can enter by clicking on the photo) and, there, select ‘settings’ and look for the ‘navigation’ section. This is where you configure whether you want voice instructions or not and also some options such as avoiding tolls, motorways or ferries. Just below this appears the option ‘give priority to routes that save fuel’. It is important to bear in mind that it will only take into account routes with a similar arrival time.
Find gas stations and check their prices
Just below the search bar on the app There are a few options on the mobile phone to show where there are shops, restaurants or petrol stations. When you click on this last option, the current price of a litre of fuel for your car appears. You can also view them in list mode and apply filters to the search to see only those that are open at that moment, for example.
Where can I park and where did I park?
When planning a trip with Google Maps and clicking on ‘How to get there’, an information box appears at the bottom with the travel time for that route, the distance in kilometres and a ‘P’ icon and an explanation of whether or not it is usually difficult to park in the area. Once you have found a place at your destination, so that you do not forget the exact spot, you can press the location button and then the little blue dot that indicates where you are. A screen will appear where you can share your location or save this point as a parking spot. From there, a ‘P’ will appear on the map that you can press to have the app take you there.
Check public transport schedules
Google Maps is also very useful for making public transport routes, as it allows you to check how long it takes to get to where you are by bus, metro or train. To see this, simply select a route between two points, click on ‘How to get there’ and choose the public transport option. You can set the time you want to leave to calculate the journeys in advance, and then it offers several options that show a diagram of the route. When you click on one of them, you specify the times.
Create a custom map
The custom map creation feature in Google Maps is a bit hidden, and can only be accessed through My Maps website from the browser on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Clicking on ‘create a new map’ will open a new page with a map and a bar where you can search for the points of interest you want to add. You can create several layers for different types of places (monuments, shops, restaurants…), choose between 9 types of maps, etc.
Sharing road incidents
If you see a collision, a lane closure or a roadworks not marked on the map while following a route, you can report it so that other users are aware of it and it does not affect their journey. Doing so is as easy as clicking on the ‘+’ symbol that appears on the right side of the navigation screen and selecting the type of incident from the options offered.
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