Google has decided to expand the eco-friendly routing feature on Google Maps to European countries. Their residents will now be able to specify what type of fuel their car is running on in the app settings, and the service will start providing eco-friendly and fuel-efficient routes accordingly.
Eco-friendly routing in @GoogleMaps has helped save more than an estimated half a million metric tons of carbon emissions — equivalent to taking 100,000 cars off the road. We’re on track to double this by the end of 2022 as we expand to more places, including Europe. #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/rIjUZ2agB3
— Google (@Google) May 11, 2022
This feature was launched for residents of the United States and Canada last year, offering routes that use less energy. From now on, the feature is available in nearly forty European countries, including Spain, Ireland, France, Poland, and the UK.
Bradley Rhodes
Users will also be able to specify if their car has a diesel, gas, hybrid, or electric powertrain in the Maps app settings. Based on this info, the system will find the most efficient route for a specific type of vehicle and thus help users optimize resource consumption.
The system is built on data pulled from the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the European Environment Agency, and Google Maps driving trends to train machine-learning models based on the most popular engines in certain regions.