Why does this stupid Google Maps customized routes still exist?

As one Android -Smartphone owner and Android Auto User, I trust Google Maps for my daily commuting. I hate driving in traffic, and the way my happiness wanted it, my hometown is among the most overloaded on the continent. To keep my blood pressure low, I turn to back roads and alternative routes to skirt around potential pain points. However, Google Maps’ lack of customized route support has made this far more complicated than it should be.

Don’t get me wrong, Google Maps’ traffic data is useful when I’m behind the wheel. My partner usually plays the navigator while I drive, and notify me of potential and probable problems going forward. However, I have to rely on my digital companion’s insight when I am alone.

As I trust the mapping app for easy routing around an area, Google Maps is not always the most reliable replacement passenger. It regularly navigates me straight into jam and difficult situations it does not yet know about.

My ideal solution is to create and store customized maps that map several alternative routes between my home and destination. Theoretically, this will allow me to quickly choose one of these excursion strategies based on which one I think will be best for the current time of the day or given situation. But Google Maps wakes your finger on this tank. The Android app does not support adapted route creation, even if the web portal does.

Yes, it is possible on the desk but not on mobile

It is incredibly easy to create custom squares on a desk. The Google Maps website lets me drag and drop different points on the route, manually bend and track the ideal option. Google Maps on Desktop and Google Maps on Android, however, are not the same.

This is how you and what happens when you create a customized route on the site.

1. Visit map.google.com.
2. Enter the destination and the starting point.
   • I use two popular tourist destinations on Cape Town for this example: Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden and Groot Constantia. There are several possible routes between these two points of interest.
3. Create a customized route by dragging the proposed route (see the dialog above).
4. When you are satisfied with the route, press Copy link.
5. To prove that the custom route remains as you have created it, open another browser window and follow the link.
6. Voilà! The exact route you just created will appear.

Notice how the site does not adjust for traffic or affects the route in any way. Instead, it will simply highlight the route as you have created it. Below, see two examples of a recommended route (left) and one customized route.

Compare this functionality with Google Maps behavior on a smartphone. When I press Send directions to your phoneand open the link in the Android app, Google Maps will display the shortest, fastest route As it looks appropriateNot the customized route I have created.

I thought this could be a Google Maps app limit, so I opened the link in an incognito Firefox window -I got the same result. Every time I open the customized route on my phone, it is the standard for what Google thinks is the best route.

This response to routing on the Android app also affects Android Auto. I can’t see, select or save custom routes and read them while driving because of this limitation, making the customized route creation feature completely redundant on the desktop. Should I place the laptop on the dashboard and read the customized route like that, Google?

My colleagues are also affected by this problem. It prevents them from making walkways through their city, planning transit routes and planning hiking trails. The mapping app that will make navigating in local areas easy makes the process completely crazy.

I guess Google Maps is standard for this behavior because it makes the platform easier to use on mobile, but Google Maps isn’t always right. In fact, I find it difficult to rely on Google Maps’ route suggestions recently. It often takes me through more congested areas than I would have considered. Sure, at the moment, in a city I am not familiar with, this functionality would be and is useful. But in an area I know offer faster B-road options, I will be ready to navigate through these by touching a button.

However, this customized route is not limited to Google Maps. Waze offers me smarter routing options, but allows no customized routes. Here Wego is also stiff in its recommendations, although I like the user interface.

Interestingly, Apple Maps seems to be one of the only major mapping applications that gets this functionality correct. Users can create custom squares on any Apple device via Apple map and access them on their phones. This feature is aimed at cyclists and those on foot, but theoretically you can use it as a driver. If anything, it proves that effective adapted route creation is possible on mobile.

I have some bad news if you are facing the same problem with Google Maps and desperately seeking a solution. I have evaluated and tested many options, and no one has been worth.

If you are hell to bend Google Maps to your will, it’s a (clumsy) solution. The Add stop The dialog allows you to add more destinations between the start and end points. Google Maps will then lead you to each subsequent destination, in succession. This is not ideal for just navigating in an overloaded grid.

Instead, I used to study roads, crosses and traffic flow at different times of the day and plan my departure based on it. This is forcing me to think about my feet, but I feel far more confident in my ability to navigate around problems than letting Google Maps take me through them. I just wish it provided more help in such situations.