Google Maps adds 12 cities for real time traffic updates

BENGALURU: Search engine Google on Tuesday launched traffic information on Google Maps for 12 more Indian cities, making it possible for users to judge traffic on a particular route in these cities. Google Maps will now show traffic information for Kolkata, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Indore, Ludhiana, Visakhapatnam, Nagpur, Kochi, Madurai and Bhopal.

By turning on the traffic layer on Google maps, users can see routes mapped out in different colours, indicating the speed of traffic on those roads, Google said.

With growing internet penetration on mobile, mapping services have taken off in a big way in India. Many new age apps like Ola Cabs and Uber Inc use the map information provided by Google to run their business. In 2013, Google had come out with a study saying that mapping and location-based services generated $3 billion in revenue and created 1.35 lakh jobs in 2011 in the country. Geo services include companies that generate location data, create software or apps that use geo data.

Google Maps has also had its share of trouble in India on a few occasions earlier. In December, the Survey of India, the country’s principal mapping agency, questioned Google for displaying incorrect mapping information about regions like Kashmir.