In a world first, Google Maps is expanding its Street View functionality to India without having collected any data. It has instead relied on Genesys International and Tech Mahindra, which have covered over 150,000 kilometres in 10 cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Nashik, Vadodara, Ahmednagar, and Amritsar. According to Google, the company intends to expand Street View to more than 50 Indian cities by the end of the year.
To access Street View, open Google Maps, zoom into a road in any of the cities listed above, and tap the area you want to see. On this occasion, the Street View API has also been made available to local developers.
Google Maps is now showing information about speed limits shared by traffic authorities in India, beginning in Bengaluru and Chandigarh. This should be available in more cities in the future. Google Maps now displays information about road closures and incidents in the following cities: Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Agra.
Google has also collaborated with Bengaluru traffic police to help optimize traffic light timings, and a pilot project resulted in a nearly 20% reduction in congestion across all intersections. This will be expanded to include all of Bengaluru, and the pilot will be expanded to include Kolkata and Hyderabad in the coming months.
Finally, Google Maps is displaying “authoritative air quality information” in collaboration with the Central Pollution Control Board, which can be accessed by tapping the Layers button at the top right and selecting the Air Quality option.
