Google Maps’ next update will include reports regarding accessibility issues at public transit stations, making it much easier to plan your journey.
Initially reported by CNET, it appears that Google Maps has released a new update focusing on keeping users updated with potential accessibility disruptions, such as malfunctioning elevators or escalators. So far, the update is available on iOS, Android and desktop platforms. However, it is only available in New York, Paris, Seattle, Boston, Budapest and Brisbane at the time of writing.
Accessing the accessibility alerts is relatively simple. However, you will first need to be sure that you have wheelchair accessibility routes turned on as a preference. To do this, enter your destination into Google Maps, then tap the three dots in the upper right corner. This will bring up a new sub-menu where you will need to press options, and then scroll down to wheelchair accessible.
When this is done, you will begin to see the alert next to any route option, which you can then select to get more information about the nature of the issue. The benefit this brings is massive as it will make it much easier to plan the journey out and know what the exact fault is at a destination and if users will need to plan around it. Hopefully, this will make travel much less stressful for anyone with physical disabilities.
Google Maps has seen some major changes recently with a new redesign that scraps the fullscreen menus and replaces them with a sheet-based layout. There are also changes to the navigational menu, with the app cutting down on the number buttons at the top of the screen. There are more changes than just visual, with the addition of Screen Reader support that allows you to use your phone's camera to scan the surrounding environment, at which point Google offers audible feedback on what’s there.
Google Maps is easily the most popular app for navigation currently available, with millions of people using it to plan their journeys. The introduction of new features that aim to make travel as easy as possible for the majority of people is one that we should praise. Hopefully, such features will soon come to other countries as well. On that note, if you are planning a last-minute summer trip, then we have 9 Google Maps tips that might help and 9 hidden Google Map features that everyone should know about.
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