Google Maps is getting updated all the time, but as a U.K.-based individual, I often have to wait a while before a lot of the best new features are actually available. For example, the Immersive Navigation update, which started rolling out in the U.S. and India last month, has failed to materialize on my English phone thus far.
So imagine my surprise when I found out Google Maps quietly rolled out an update solely for the U.K. Well, England, because apparently the rest of the U.K. wasn’t formally invited to this party — even if I did see some stray bus details in parts of rural Wales.
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The new bus support is basic — but useful
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I first heard about Google Maps’ newfound love of English buses. The update came with almost no fanfare, and I can’t even see a Google blog post about it — just a brief mention in an official U.K. government press release.
The buses in my local area are quite well regarded, and one of the reasons is the official app that shows you the real-time location of each bus on a map of the local area — with updates happening every 10 seconds or so. In my mind, I had envisioned a Waze-looking map interface, showcasing all the different buses across England with a variety of designs.
Sadly, Google has not gone this far, and the implementation of this bus data is actually pretty basic — though that doesn’t make it any less useful. You may not be able to track the physical location of a specific bus, but Google Maps will warn you if your bus has been delayed and won’t be arriving at the scheduled time.
You need to start the navigation process to see all this, with the routing set to use public transport. In the list of route options, you’ll see the word “delayed” in red lettering, warning you that timings are off. Tapping that particular option will then tell you how much of a delay to expect and the new estimated arrival time.
Crucially, this updated ETA means Google can adapt to transit delays and offer new routes accordingly. That way, if there are multiple bus routes you could take, Google will showcase the most efficient ones based on when the bus will actually arrive. Likewise, knowing your arrival time might be delayed lets you find alternative arrangements right there within Google Maps.
Local transit apps have shown how Google Maps could improve
Remember how I said I envisioned a Google Maps with buses moving along the map in real time? It sounds a little odd, but it’s something that can be done. In fact, the company that runs all my local buses has its own app, complete with a real-time map of all the vehicles in operation. It’s not the only one, either, with various local transit apps offering that real-time visualization of where their vehicles are.
So not only can you see all the bus stops and live departure information, but you can also see exactly where the next bus is and follow its progress along the map. There’s a huge amount of difference between knowing the bus should be two minutes away and being able to see that it’s actually a mile down the road.
If these are features that a local government can put together, with all the budgets and financial pressures that entail, then it’s definitely something that a multi-trillion-dollar company like Google can accomplish.
Google Maps is pretty cluttered, though, so this would have to be one of those map features you toggle on and off, but there’s no logistical reason why this couldn’t be done. Google could even utilize AI to better approximate the movement of each vehicle between updates.
I should mention here that none of this data is directly collected by Google; instead, it’s seems to be coming from the Bus Open Data Service (BODS), which features detailed information about buses across England. This includes vehicle location, fares data and timetabling, and essentially does all the hard work for services like Google and any other interested parties. You can even see some bus delay information in Apple Maps, though so far I can’t find any announcement to verify how long it’s been there.
Still, with the data already collected, there’s certainly room for Google to expand upon it and add better functionality for those people who don’t necessarily drive everywhere. Because why should cars get all the cool new features?
Bottom line
It’s nice to see that Google Maps is adding features in my area, even if it is a small quality-of-life update rather than something incredibly extravagant. Considering how important buses and other forms of public transit are to people across the U.K., it’s great to see more of the data it generates being put to good use.
It is a very basic addition, and I would like to see Google expand upon other things to offer better and more immersive features for regular public transit passengers. But this is certainly a good start, and I’d like to see it rolled out to a much wider area — ideally starting with the rest of the U.K.
I imagine that the rollout will be limited by the amount of data collected and made available by public transit authorities. But that shouldn’t stop Google Maps and other navigational apps from boosting their public transit presence wherever they can.
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