Google recently announced via the company blog that the navigation contained in Google Maps will be expanded to include extensive information on public transport. In addition to possible delays, this also includes the capacity utilisation of buses, trams and underground trains, which provide information in advance on how full the means of transport are at the moment.
The data is determined using a newly developed machine learning procedure that takes into account waiting times at stops, traffic volume and congestion. Google has published details in the KI-Blog. Currently, the new function is limited to 200 cities, but further cities are to be added to the offer in the near future.
According to Google, the utilisation of the means of transport is determined via smartphones on which Google Maps is installed. The Group then uses the historical data to calculate the probable current capacity utilization.
