When Waze said they were now going to include motorcycle routes in their navigation app, we knew it was only a matter of time before parent company Google did the same for Google Maps of course. Now we already have the first sighting of the Motorcycle Mode on the app, but so far, we’re only seeing it in India, one of the world’s biggest motorcycle riding countries. No official word yet from Google but previous teardowns of the app showed it was coming and the screenshots look legit.
Android Police has previously noted that a motorcycle or two-wheeler mode has been spotted on the Google Maps app teardowns. Now, some users in India are sharing screencaps as they’re seeing a motorcycle mode beside the car, bus/train, walking, and ride sharing modes that you normally see when looking for a place on the app. The goal of this mode is of course to find the fastest and most efficient way to get to your destination if you’re riding a motorcycle.
Just like the other modes, it will show you road closures, heavy traffic areas, and routes that a two-wheeler can go through but where cars cannot squeeze through of course. It also shows parking status at your destination or where is the nearest place that you can park your bike. India is the fourth largest motorcycle riding nation in the world (after Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan), so it makes sense that they’re one of the first pilots for this.
The motorcycle mode will supposedly make an appearance when you update to version 9.67.1 of Google Maps, but only if you’re in India. Let’s see how fast they will expand this to other countries that will need it.
VIA: Android Police
