Audio By Carbonatix
Google is adding features on its Maps service to alert users about COVID-19-related travel restrictions to help them plan their trips better, the Alphabet Inc unit said on Monday.
The update would allow users to check how crowded a train station might be at a particular time, or if buses on a certain route are running on a limited schedule, Google said.
The transit alerts would be rolled out in Argentina, France, India, Netherlands, the United States and United Kingdom among other countries, the company said here in a blog post.
The new features would also include details on COVID-19 checkpoints and restrictions on crossing national borders, starting with Canada, Mexico and the United States.
In recent months, the company has analyzed location data from billions of Google users’ phones in 131 countries to examine mobility under lockdowns and help health authorities assess if people were abiding with social-distancing and other orders issued to rein in the virus.
Google has invested billions of dollars from its search ads business to digitally map the world, drawing 1 billion users on average every month to its free navigation app.
Latest Stories
-
Police arrest 6 women in child trafficking syndicate, rescue 3 victims
8 minutes -
22 heartbreaking hit-and-run cases in the last decade: A tragic decade on Ghana’s roads
9 minutes -
Three dead after volcano erupts on Indonesian island
12 minutes -
Galien Africa opens applications for 6th Prix Galien Africa Awards
14 minutes -
Former Botswana President Festus Mogae dies aged 86
23 minutes -
The May 9 dilemma: Celebration in the shadow of tragedy
34 minutes -
TOR turns to West African crude as revamp efforts deepen
34 minutes -
Jospong Group, VYNCKE forge landmark waste-to-energy partnership for Africa at IFAT, Germany
42 minutes -
Awerco Construction threatens legal action over Ministry of Health’s ‘false claims’ on Weija Specialist Children’s hospital
46 minutes -
Mamprugu Youth Association alleges Police extrajudicial killings in Zuarungu, demands independent inquiry
51 minutes -
Police arrest suspect linked to armed attack on VIP bus on Walewale–Nasia highway
57 minutes -
Reduce BECE subjects from 10 to 4 to ease stress, save time—Eduwatch’s Kofi Asare
1 hour -
Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of breaching Victory Day ceasefire
1 hour -
IGP special operations team arrest 50 suspects in anti-narcotics raid at Madina Market
1 hour -
South Africa president faces call to resign after court ruling
1 hour