New Google Maps Feature Shows Most Fuel-Efficient Routes

Google uses a machine learning model to predict which route is the most fuel- or energy-efficient and recommends it to Maps users, according to an article by Justine Calma in The Verge.
Google Maps will choose the fastest and most fuel-efficient route by default. Since the tool's launch in 2021, the company claims that drivers have saved about 1.2 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by following these recommended routes.

According to Google's analysis, many drivers are driving in the least polluting way possible. To calculate the tailpipe emissions avoided, the company compared how much fuel Maps users likely consumed on the routes they drove to how much fuel they would have consumed had they taken the fastest route without the company's eco-friendly routing tool.

Between October 2021, when Google launched the tool, and December 2022, the savings amounted to 1.2 million metric tonnes of avoided CO2 emissions.

For better results, users can also add more details, like whether they drive an electric vehicle. Of course, using public transportation, biking, or walking are still more environmentally friendly options, and Google claims it is working to make using Maps in other ways easier.

Calma points out that “Google produces exponentially more pollution than any household, of course. Its carbon footprint added up to more than 10.18 million metric tons of CO2 emitted in 2022, roughly equivalent to pollution from more than 25 gas-fired power plants in a year.”