Newsletter
When looking for directions in Google Maps, from one place to another, you have a few different options. You can choose to go by public transit (subway, bus, etc), drive there or walk. But you also have a few ride-sharing services as well. Uber has been integrated in Google Maps for quite some time now. So if you’re looking to see how long it’d take you to get somewhere from your current location, Uber would show up and give you an estimate of how much it would cost you. It included UberX and UberBlack, and in other countries there would be Uber’s other products like People’s Uber in China. Today, Google announced it was expanding this feature to more ride-sharing companies.
Starting today, in the Google Maps app you’ll have the option for 99Taxis in Brazil, Ola Cabs in India, Hailo in the UK and Spain, mytaxi in Germany and Spain and finally Gett in the UK. This isn’t all of the ride-sharing companies out there, not by a long shot. Especially considering Lyft isn’t included, which is Uber’s biggest competitor.
In addition to getting the fare estimate from Google Maps, if the app is installed for the ride-sharing provider, you can tap on the result in Google Maps and be taken directly to the app. From there you will be able to complete your ride-sharing order. It’s as easy as can be. This update is coming in the form of a new update to the Google Maps app, which Google says is rolling out to Android and iOS over the next few days. As usual, this appears to be a staged rollout from Google.
Google Maps has always been a pretty helpful navigation and mapping app. With today’s update, it just got that much more helpful. Especially with more and more people relying on ride-sharing services like Uber, Gett, Hailo, 99taxis and others, it makes a ton of sense to add that into Google Maps when looking for directions. It’ll be interesting to see if Lyft ever gets added in, seeing as Uber and Lyft have been playing dirty lately, with one leaving nasty, untrue reviews about the others’ service.