Google Maps: AI Unlocks More Sustainable Travel in Europe
Weighing up the most sustainable ways to travel across Europe just became much easier, thanks to the latest Google Maps updates.
But how is the tech giant transforming mobility for users?
Suggesting driving alternatives
Google offers a tool in Maps that uses AI to predict when public transport or walking will take people to their destination with comparable journey times to driving.
The AI-powered tool then shows these routes, prompting users to consider more sustainable options with less impact on the environment.
Since its release, this Google Maps claims this feature has saved tens of millions of car trips.
Available in 60 cities already, it is due for release in Warsaw, Copenhagen and Stockholm soon.
Reducing emissions and saving fuel
If driving is unavoidable, Google Maps can still help make car travel more sustainable.
Google Maps' fuel-efficient routing feature, now available globally, helps drivers choose journeys that use the least fuel or energy, even when those routes aren’t the fastest.
Google says this feature is now used on 500 million trips each month.
The company estimates that in 2024, this has helped avoid more than 2.7 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – roughly equivalent to taking 630,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road for a year.
Flagging low-emission zones
Google Maps now displays alerts in cities like London and Berlin to help drivers navigate low-emission and low-traffic zones – areas designed to reduce congestion and improve air quality.
These notifications let users check if their vehicle complies with local regulations and offer alternative routes when needed.
According to Google, this feature will soon expand to cover more than 1,000 such zones across Europe, including countries like Austria, Italy and Sweden.
Improving safety for cyclists
Backed by data from public authorities and partnerships with local governments, cyclists now gain increased details and safety insights in more places across Europe with the latest updates from Google Maps.
Available in cities like Brussels, Budapest, Rome, Milan, Zurich, Barcelona, Madrid, Hamburg and Vienna – cyclists can readily identify where there are lanes along their cycling routes.
Additional valuable insights helping cyclists make safer decisions include details like steep hills and heavy car traffic indicators.
These cyclist-friendly mechanisms will expand to 17 new cities, nine of which are in Europe, in the near future – covering 125,000 kilometres of bike lanes in total worldwide.
Alleviating congestion
But it is not only individual travellers who reap the benefits of Google Maps’ environmentally-friendly features.
With the help of Google tech and AI-driven tools, entire cities are reducing their overall carbon emissions.
Google’s Project Green Light is designed to support cities in reducing carbon emissions by improving traffic flow.
It combines AI with Google Maps driving trends to analyse and model traffic patterns, then suggests optimisations to existing traffic light timing plans.
Google has recently expanded the programme to Vilnius, Lithuania, and it is now active in 20 cities across four continents, with the aim of helping more drivers reach their destinations with fewer stops at red lights.
“An estimated 2.7 million metric tonnes of GHG emissions have been avoided in 2024 alone from a simple software update, and 20 cities across 4 continents are now using AI to optimise their traffic lights and reduce needless idling and emissions,” summarises Robert Little, Sustainability Strategy Lead - gTech, at Google.
“While individual sustainable choices are crucial, the next frontier of impact lies in systems-level change. At Google, we’re providing cities not just with tools for citizens, but with data-driven insights for infrastructure – creating a more informed, responsive urban environment.”
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