Do you love to explore new places along your travel route? Google Maps is here to help. With its “Search Along Route” functionality, travelers can easily find new areas of interest when on the move. This includes places like a coffee shop, restaurants, tourist attractions, and much more.

What is Google Maps’ Search Along Route feature?

Developers who integrate the Search Along Route feature allow users to locate places within a specified distance from their current route. Here’s a breakdown of how it works: 

1. Focused search – enables Google Maps users to define a specific distance range for the stops off the specified route from point A to B., filtering out unnecessary detours.
2. Points of interest – configure the categories of places to find (for example, restaurants, coffee shops, gas stations, or grocery stores).
3. Easy integration – with other applications that use Google’s navigation SDK.

Google Maps’s Search Along Route functionality is also available with the following Places APIs:

• Nearby Search (New) – to provide a route summary for each place along the predefined route.
• Text Search (New) – to search for places close to the predefined route.
• Text Search (New) and Nearby Search (New) – to provide a route summary from the origin of the route location to each place listed in the search results.

Benefits of Google Maps’ Search Along Route functionality

Here are some of the benefits of the Search Along Route feature of Google Maps:

1. Efficient journeys
   With Google Maps’ Search Along Route functionality, users can optimize their travel efficiency. For instance, they can define their travel route and not detour far from this navigation path. This helps them minimize their fuel consumption and any time wasted in finding new locations.
2. Enhanced planning
   With this functionality, companies offering location-based services can now plan their daily trips. For example, a company running commercial trucks can choose a route with plenty of gas stations and resting areas (for its drivers). Similarly, families traveling in a group can look for routes with plenty of restaurants and accommodation.
3. Flexible travel
   The “Search Along Route” feature also works well for impulsive travelers. For instance, they can dynamically choose a stop in proximity to their current location, thus enabling real-time flexible traveling.

How to add the Search Along Route feature

Here’s how Google Maps developers can add this feature to their online navigation or ride-sharing applications:

1. Capture the real-time route data using the Google Maps’ Routes API.
2. Add the Places API that contains the “Search Along Route” feature.
3. Define the search parameters based on your business requirements – for example, coffee shops or gas stations.
4. Deploy the application to view real-time location results according to the user’s query and location.

Real-life applications of Google Maps’ Search Along Route

Here are some real-life applications of this Google Maps feature:

1. Travel enthusiasts
   No matter which location, travel enthusiasts and tourists can use this functionality to search for unknown places nearby (within a kilometer) of their travel route. This can include a variety of places like natural attractions, parks, and even historic monuments.
2. Daily city commuters
   During transit, long-distance city commuters can now locate places that serve breakfast or meals. They can also search for places of utility like gas stations, grocery stores, and coffee shops.
3. Courier services
   The “Search Along Route” functionality is also useful for courier or delivery companies. For instance, they can search for the nearest gas station without having to leave their delivery route, thus saving both time and fuel.

How Onix can help with Google Maps

As an experienced Google Maps partner, Onix can help you customize and integrate the “Search Along Route” feature in your navigation app. With its expertise in geospatial solutions, Onix is the right partner to help you maximize the returns from your location-based services.

Are you looking for guidance on how to integrate a variety of Google Maps services into your application? We can help you out. Contact our team today.