Google Maps Adds Estimated Toll Prices, Better Route Details

pcmag.com:

Google Maps' latest updates aim to make it easier to plan, save money, and explore during your next driving trip.

Love them or hate them, the US is littered with toll roads (and toll bridges and toll tunnels), which require a fee for passage. It's up to you, of course, whether to brave the longer distances, poorer conditions, and heavier traffic of regular streets, or dole out a few dollars on the turnpike.

Google Maps can now estimate the toll price required to get you to your destination. Based on information from local tolling authorities, the navigation service considers factors like "the cost of using a toll pass or other payment methods, what day of the week it is, along with how much the toll is expected to cost at the specific time you'll be crossing it," according to Rubén Lozano-Aguilera, product manager at Google Maps.

Toll-free routes still appear, when available. Users can also choose to completely avoid seeing directions with toll roads; tap the three dots at the top right corner and select "Avoid tolls."

Rolling out this month to Android and iOS users, the function covers nearly 2,000 toll roads in the US, Japan, India, and Indonesia—with more countries coming soon.

Google has increased the amount of map detail available by adding more information about traffic lights, stop signs, and building outlines.

Users will soon see "enhanced details" like areas of interest and, in certain cities, the shape and width of a road (including medians and islands). "You can better understand where you are, and help decrease the odds of making last-minute lane changes or missing a turn," Lozano-Aguilera explained.

The new navigation map is coming soon to Android, Android Auto, iOS, and CarPlay in "select countries."

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