Google search & maps get upgrades for greener travel

Google announced updates to its Maps and Search products on Monday aimed at helping users find and choose more sustainable transportation options over gas-powered vehicles.

If travel times are comparable, one of Google Maps’ key new features will be the provision of transit and walking route suggestions alongside driving routes.

This update will be rolled out in over 15 major cities worldwide in the coming weeks, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, and Sydney.

Google is expanding its ability to find long-distance train and bus routes through search.

Users searching queries like “Boston to Philadelphia train” will see schedules, prices, and direct links to book tickets on the results page.

Train route information will now be available for 38 countries, while long-distance bus routes will initially be added for 15 countries.

When users search for flights on Google’s dedicated Flight tool, they will see train route suggestions as an alternative for applicable routes.

Google is also releasing a Google Sheets add-on and online calculator to make the emissions estimates more widely available.

Google announced that it plans to reduce access to California news websites for a portion of users in the state.

The decision comes as Google prepares for the potential passage of the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), a bill requiring online platforms like Google to pay news publishers for linking to their content.