Google Maps has just added a new function to make trips more eco-responsible by showing the routes that require the least fuel for gas, diesel and electric vehicles. What a way to save some money along the way!
Car use is one of the major causes of CO emissions2which contribute greatly to the current ecological crisis. According to the International Energy Agencyroad traffic – cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses – produced 75% of CO emissions2 in 2021. Therefore, to limit the damage, it is absolutely necessary to deal with the question of transport. Google Maps got down to it with its latest update, which proposes to reduce the amount of fuel used for a trip – and therefore the pollution emitted – in exchange for a few more minutes of driving. Indeed, when preparing the route of the trip, Google Maps offers several modes of transport: walking, cycling, public transport and car. Then it shows the fastest route, which appears in blue with the travel time. From now on, it will also highlight the most fuel-efficient route – which is not necessarily the fastest – with a small green leaf next to it. This feature can be disabled or enabled in the app settings. Along with options Avoid expressways, Avoid tolls and Avoid the ferriesis now Prioritize fuel-efficient routest. In a blog post published on September 7, Google gives the example of a car journey between Limoges and Bergerac. By using this function, the journey time is extended by ten minutes, but enjoys a saving of 30% in fuel consumption.
To achieve an accurate result, Google Maps now offers to indicate the fuel type of the vehicle – petrol, diesel, electric or hybrid. It also takes into account the relief of the road – the presence of a hill for example – and the traffic. For this, the company relied on data from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the European Environment Agency and its own traffic trend data. This feature was already deployed in the United States, Canada and Germany, and produced great results. With it, 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions have been avoided, the equivalent of removing 100,000 combustion engine cars from circulation. Today, this option is gradually being deployed in 40 new European countries, including France. And if it cannot seduce for its ecological side, there is no doubt that the savings it makes possible – since the use of less fuel leads to less expenditure – will get the better of the most recalcitrant, especially with inflation.
GPS applications: awareness-raising measures
This novelty echoes the decision of France. Indeed, with the decree of August 3, 2022 relating to digital travel assistance services, published in the Official Journal, the government intends to get involved in our use of GPS guidance applications and sites, such as Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, Mappy and even Bonjour RATP. The idea is to make motorists aware of their impact on the environment by offering them best practices. Certain measures come into force on August 6 in order to“supporting the transition of uses towards carbon-free mobility” on guidance applications.
One of the government’s objectives is to make every driver aware of the impact of their journeys on the environment. This is why, from now on, as soon as a user plans a journey, the GPS will have to provide the “their users information on the quantities of greenhouse gases and air pollutants emitted” by the different modes of transport possible for their route – such as nitrogen oxides and fine particles. The goal is that users can each time compare their carbon footprint according to the mode of transport chosen, and decide in their soul and conscience. In addition, applications will also have to “to put forward” them “proposals of itineraries with the lowest impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions”.
In the same vein, from December 2022, all sites and applications will have to broadcast, each time a user searches for a journey, environmental awareness messages such as “for short journeys, favor walking or cycling”, “consider carpooling” Where “going from 130 to 110 km/h on the motorway reduces your consumption by 20%.” These messages will be presented “to the user on a regular basis, from the result of the route search, in an easily readable format”, specifies the decree. They will always be accompanied by the signature #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer.
Measures to limit vehicle pollution
Scientists have shown that driving slower leads to less pollution. This is why the government is seeking to lower the maximum speed by 20 km/hour – and therefore reduce the pollution caused by driving a car on a long journey. To achieve this, applications will highlight “an alternative route taking into account a reduction in the maximum speed of 20 km/h on the portions concerned”. Concretely, when several routes are possible to reach the same destination, they will have to offer the least polluting routes first – avoiding roads at 130 km/h for example. Note in passing that the government had failed to impose a speed limit of 110 km/h on the highways.
However, this does not mean that users should have recourse to “the massive use of secondary roads for transit traffic”, which is sometimes encouraged by GPS. However, the overloading of certain country roads is pointed out by several municipalities, which receive numerous complaints from their inhabitants – the tranquility and the absence of noise pollution are often assets of life in the provinces. Also, GPS will be prohibited from offering these alternative routes unless they reduce the total travel time by at least 10% compared to “to the route maximizing the use of non-secondary roads” or that work is taking place on the main track. Eventually, the government hopes to no longer need to offer these second routes at all.
Finally, guidance applications will have until December 1, 2022 at the latest to display carpooling areas or shared bicycle terminals on their maps. Then, as of June 1, 2023, they will have to “make it easily accessible” various information concerning the protection of the environment, such as traffic restrictions following a pollution peak and Low Emission Zones (ZFE), which will be introduced in the coming years. They will have until the end of 2023 to do the same with all means of public transport and shared vehicles, including bicycles and electric scooters.