Google Maps Adds Slower, Most Environmentally Efficient Routes

Users can choose either the greenest or the fastest route as their default. 

The data on how consumers make choices should be very interesting.   

Mark Wilson reports in Fast Company:

Google will change the logic of Google Maps. Instead of showing the fastest route from point A to point B by default, it will show the greenest route by default. By referencing data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy, Google will be calculating factors such as fuel consumption, road incline, and traffic congestion to provide the route that is as climate-friendly as possible. Google will offer the option to toggle between routes and choose. You can change settings to have your route always default to the fastest option. But 95% of users never change the default settings.

If we want to save the planet, we have to give up some parts of our fast-paced lifestyle. Much like the Victory Speed Limit slowed down cars during World War II in order to consume less gas, designers today are asking, “Would you take a bit longer to travel somewhere if you knew it was better for the environment?”

And that’s the question Google is putting forth in its latest iteration of Google Maps.

In the near future, Google will fundamentally change the logic of Google Maps. Instead of showing you the fastest route from point A to point B by default, it will show you the greenest route by default. By referencing data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy, Google will be calculating factors such as fuel consumption, road incline, and traffic congestion to provide to you the route that is as climate-friendly as possible. (The company declined to make a designer available for an interview.)

For the most part, you might not even notice a difference. Google will be listing the climate-friendly route when its ETA is about the same as a less climate-friendly route. However, in situations where making the eco-conscious decision will cost you significantly more time, Google will offer you the option to toggle between routes and choose which you’d prefer. You can even change your settings to have your route always default to the fastest option. But it’s unlikely that you will. One study found 95% of users never change the default settings of apps.