The Government has just put in place a new new interactive map allowing motorists to compare fuel prices and, above all, to find fuel stations. A handy tool for refueling.
The State takes care of your full tank of gas… or almost! On Friday, October 28, 2022, the Government unveiled the beta version of an interactive map allowing you to compare fuel prices in France, but also, and above all, to find stations supplied. An appreciable tool, because, even if the situation has improved in recent days compared to the beginning of the month, some points of sale are still struggling to fill their tanks – when they are not taken by storm – and prices soar in others. This new device comes to support the famous government site Fuel priceswell known to motorists looking for the best rates, long before the shortage of recent weeks (see our article on services and apps for comparing fuel prices).
In order to provide reliable information, with up-to-date prices and supplies, the Government’s data.gouv.fr service relies on several data sources, such as Covid monitoring. Based on the principle of open data – “free” data, accessible to everyone free of charge – it uses resources fromEtalabthe department of the interministerial digital directorate (DINUM) in charge of the management of public data, the geographical information ofOpenMapTiles, the international organization that provides maps, and contributions from OpenStreetMap, a participatory site. And to have more reliable information, both for prices and for the actual availability of fuels, data.gouv calls on all consumers who wish to participate in updating the map to share their information and readings with the community. “Have you also used data on fuel prices? Share your work with the community to help inform as many people as possible!”can we read on the Twitter account of the service.
Like the Land Value Data (DVF) application, this tool illustrates the potential of data for steering public policies, service to users and informing the public.
What other open data exploration or visualization would you like to see?
— data.gouv.fr (@datagouvfr) October 27, 2022
data.gouv.fr: a participatory map of fuel prices
Concretely, the data.gouv website gives access to several data. First of all, the interactive map reports fuel prices in real time in France. A color code has been put in place: in green, fuel costs between 0 and 1.57 euros per liter, in yellow, you can find it for 1.57 to 1.66 euros per litre, and in orange, the price is higher than 1.66 euro per litre. Feel free to “play” with your mouse wheel to zoom in on the area where you expect to find fuel. On the left of the map, other functions are offered. Thus, you can customize the price card, according to your desires and needs. Thus the Select a fuel filter provides access to a drop-down menu to choose the desired fuel: Unleaded 95 (E10), Unleaded 95, Unleaded 98, Diesel, LPG-C and superethanol (E85). In addition to this filtering, an option allows you to reveal on the map the stations out of unleaded 95 (E10). Another function is offered to you. You can follow the evolution of the average prices of unleaded 95 (E10) in France. And to avoid unpleasant surprises at the pump, remember to check the date and time of publication!
