Differences in online routing services

[hbelkins]

Checking the time for a possible trip to the DC meet this coming weekend, I ran a specific route from an address in Frankfort, Ky. to an address in Staunton, Va. through four online services -- Google, Bing, Yahoo and Mapquest. Got some interesting figures back.

Google:
6 hrs, 51 mins for 407 miles.

Mapquest:
6 hrs, 15 mins for 407.09 miles

Bing:
5 hrs, 49 mins for 406.08 miles

Yahoo:
6 hrs, 7 mins for 406.59 miles

An hour's difference in travel times between a couple of the services, with a couple of them right in the middle and probably closer to what my own estimate of the travel time would be, which is 6 1/2 hours.

What's the general preference here, or an opinion on accuracy, of these four? Or is there another mapping service someone prefers?

When I get to a PC, I will run the route on MS Streets and Trips and DeLorme Street Atlas to see what those two pieces of software come up with.

[pianocello]

I've noticed that Google directions usually take the most time possible. When I was checking out how our school's band and orchestra would get to Disney World, Google said it would take about 3 hours longer than Bing did. As it turns out, the bus took Mapquest's route, and the timing was pretty accurate.

[Duke87]

Given that I am a man of habit, I've been using Google Maps pretty much since it existed and not given much consideration to anything else. I know from experience that it has a habit of overestimating time and I account for that (I like having extra time allotted in case I get held up, anyway). I've never seen it recommend a route I fundamentally disagreed with (at least not for driving - transit directions are another story).

I'm not really sure why, but I kinda have an "ick" feeling about Bing in general that prevents me from using it. Mapquest is so 2002. And Yahoo is so 1999.

What keeps me using Google despite the less than stellar accuracy in their data is two things: one, the UI is the best looking of any online map other than OSM. Bing, Mapquest, and Yahoo all in some way or another grate on my eyes. Two, all the peripheral features... satellite view; topo map; live traffic; the ability to search for businesses; the ability to get transit, walking, or biking directions in addition to just driving; the ability to manually adjust the recommended route... any other service lacks one or more of these decidedly useful things. The only thing I really wish Google did that they don't (other than have better QC on their data, anyway) is show county lines. I hop over to OSM when I need this.

[InterstateNG]

I never pay attention to the time calculation, just the mileage.

[Brandon]

I never pay attention to the time calculation, just the mileage.

Same here.  I even modify the route so that I can get an accurate count of the mileage on the route I want to take.  None of the online mapping services map exactly the best routing I think they should map.

Hence, my answer is "E - None of the Above" for the survey.

[corco]

I use Google initially, then use common sense to pick between their 1st/2nd/3rd choice routes and then refine those routes, and then calculate time more or less manually

[Eth]

Between Google, Yahoo, and Bing, I've usually found Bing to be the most accurate in terms of estimating travel time.  I usually stick with Google Maps, however, because I find it to be the easiest on which to tweak the route to get it just right.

[bsmart]

I have one general rule 'Don't trust Mapquest in the MidAtlantic region'  I have heard too many stories of terrible routing, plan stupid routing. Their algorithm seems to have a problem in choosing appropriate routes.  I don't know if they can't interpret their map data properly but they seem to regularly choose bad routes. I have found Google to be generally reliable and moderately efficient.  I haven't used the others.  

Time in the DC area is very variable so I would only use it as a general guideline

[MrDisco99]

I use Google out of habit.  I almost never use Directions to figure out how to get somewhere.  I mostly use it to figure mileage for a route I've already come up with.

Streetview also comes in handy for verifying addresses.

What I don't like about Google is it doesn't make good enough use of colors to differentiate types of roads.  The fact that toll roads are the same color as free roads, for example, or that some freeways show up as arterials, is annoying.

[realjd]

In my experience, Google does well with interstate drive times but always overestimates the amount of time it takes to drive on a non-interstate. Mapquest wasn't as good at route finding as Google but the drive times were much more realistic on non-interstates.

[jcarte29]

I never pay attention to the time calculation, just the mileage.

Same here.  I even modify the route so that I can get an accurate count of the mileage on the route I want to take.  None of the online mapping services map exactly the best routing I think they should map.

Hence, my answer is "E - None of the Above" for the survey.

Pretty much what I do, I have always had a good sense of direction, and only reference the  directions for the destination I am going to...

[Dr Frankenstein]

I use Google Maps most of the time. Due to my driving habits and my own weird routings (photo stops, rest stops, etc.), my times often end up equal or longer than the estimate (but the trip back home often turns out to be much faster than the estimate.)

I find that Google generally underestimates times for conventional highways on long trips, while freeway timings seem to be pretty much spot-on considering I stop at about half of the rest areas.

My procedure while planning a road trip is usually as follows:

• Look at a map and find some possible routes.
  
• Among those, look at what I've clinched and what I haven't, then which would be more interesting to drive.
  
• Take time and lodging constraints into account and build an itinerary from the candidate routes.
  
• Consult locals for information about congestion patterns and points of interests along the way.
  
• Select one or several alternate routes around areas likely to be congested (for example, I had an option via the Bear Mountain Bridge and the Palisades Parkway when I planned my clinch of U.S. 9 through NY; which I didn't use)
  
• Use the Directions feature on Google Maps and edit the itinerary to match the plan. Do the same with alternates. I'll often exceed the maximum number of waypoints (32 I think), in which case I do it in segments. Take note of the time estimate. Change the itinerary as needed.
  
• Calculate the tolls.
  
• Write the final itinerary down on paper and bring the relevant maps in the car. Sometimes, I'll go as far as writing down estimate times for various points along the way, to help me guess how I'm doing as I drive and warn anyone waiting for me in advance if I run late.

The return trips are planned much more quickly (sometimes just before leaving) and are much closer to the fastest route back home, as I'm usually under a time constraint.

What I don't like about Google is it doesn't make good enough use of colors to differentiate types of roads.  The fact that toll roads are the same color as free roads, for example, or that some freeways show up as arterials, is annoying.

I'm not sure about that. I think that toll roads use a darker orange, but it may vary by region.

[huskeroadgeek]

I use Google out of habit.  I almost never use Directions to figure out how to get somewhere.  I mostly use it to figure mileage for a route I've already come up with.

Streetview also comes in handy for verifying addresses.

What I don't like about Google is it doesn't make good enough use of colors to differentiate types of roads.  The fact that toll roads are the same color as free roads, for example, or that some freeways show up as arterials, is annoying.

That's mostly the way I am too. I will sometimes use online map directions as a suggestion, but I always trust my own instincts better. I use them mostly as a quick way of determining mileage for a trip that requires a lot of non-interstate driving where it takes longer to tally up the mileage on the map. Like others, I don't pay much attention to driving times. There are too many variables-differing driving habits, traffic, frequency of stops, etc. to come up with an objective measure of driving time.

As for which routing service I use most often, it's Google Maps. I used to use mapquest all the time(and before that, the long defunct mapblast), but ever since the advent of Street View, I find it easiest to just use Google Maps most of the time. My biggest complaint, as others have said is the lack of county lines, which is especially annoying when you are county collecting. I usually look at Bing Maps for that. It seems to me that Google Maps routing used to be somewhat inferior-they put too much of a premium on using interstates or other routes they considered major routes even when there were shorter routes that made more logical sense. But they seem to have got better about it, and I really like the feature now where you can adjust your routing by choosing specific routes.

[jwolfer]

Most of us could probably plan trips from memory.  I like to see how I would route a trip differently from the online service.  I like the mapquest options now.  a few years ago it tried to plan a trip from Jacksonville to New Castle, IN and i wanted to take 25E instead of I-75... Mapquest would not route me that way even with putting Pikeville, KY as a stop.... it stayed on the interstate as much as possible

[Alps]

I've added "other or none" to the list, if you want to change your vote. I'm getting more and more pissed at Google Maps, but they're still the best user interface. I go by mileage on rural roads, city roads, and freeways and estimate my own time, because Google's estimation algorithm changes every couple of months.

H: [that's an ETA, by the way] Google does now show counties - but you have to know the name of the county in question. I used this to figure out what I clinched in Missouri re: state lettered routes.

[golden eagle]

I once used Mapquest for a hypothetical trip to Detroit from Jackson and it had me going to Chicago first, then go east. In past trips, we've always traveled through Nashville, Louisville & Cincinnati to get to Detroit.

[vdeane]

As far as routing goes: none, I plan everything myself (mostly... sometimes Google does find a more efficient way to do something, but mostly it just acts dumb, especially when loops are introduced into the equation).  I use Google for time estimation and street view.

[hbelkins]

MS Streets and Trips:
407.1 miles; 5 hours, 52 minutes

DeLorme Street Atlas:
406.63 miles; 6 hours, 3 minutes (after adjusting the speed on limited access roads from 60 to 70 mph; at 60 mph it was 6 hours, 53 minutes)

[kphoger]

I use Google Maps because I like its drag-and-drop route changes the best.  However, I completely ignore the estimated times; in fact, I usually don't even realize they're there.  I do my own time calculations.

[Alps]

I once used Mapquest for a hypothetical trip to Detroit from Jackson and it had me going to Chicago first, then go east. In past trips, we've always traveled through Nashville, Louisville & Cincinnati to get to Detroit.

I first read that as Jackson, MI and wondered how the hell even Mapquest could screw up that badly to route you west and then east.

[NE2]

I once used Mapquest for a hypothetical trip to Detroit from Jackson and it had me going to Chicago first, then go east. In past trips, we've always traveled through Nashville, Louisville & Cincinnati to get to Detroit.

I first read that as Jackson, MS and wondered how the hell even Mapquest could screw up that badly to route you west and then east.

I first read your message as Jackson, MS rather than Jackson, MI (I assume that's what you meant?).

[Alps]

I once used Mapquest for a hypothetical trip to Detroit from Jackson and it had me going to Chicago first, then go east. In past trips, we've always traveled through Nashville, Louisville & Cincinnati to get to Detroit.

I first read that as Jackson, MS and wondered how the hell even Mapquest could screw up that badly to route you west and then east.

I first read your message as Jackson, MS rather than Jackson, MI (I assume that's what you meant?).

Meant MI. Too confused for my own good. Fixed.