Google has responded to the demand for more fuel-efficient travel with the launch of its new eco-friendly directions for Ireland and Europe.
The new feature – coming to 40 European countries overall – gives users the most fuel-efficient route alongside the fastest one in a bid to save on costs and reduce carbon emissions.
With just a few taps, you can see the relative fuel savings and time difference between the two routes and choose the one that works best for you.
The environmental damage from motoring is a real concern as according to a recent report, road transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions throughout Europe.
And the biggest percent increase in navigation requests (in 24 European countries analysed) from July 2021 to this July came from transit.
Walking has become more popular in the past year
The second biggest percent increase came from walking navigation requests.
In Ireland, people used transit and walking navigation 120 percent and 89 percent more respectively this July compared to last.
Maps searches for hiking areas and parks in Ireland grew nearly 170 percent and 120 percent respectively in the same period.
Google estimates that since launching the eco-friendly directions feature in the US and Canada last year, the firm has helped remove more than half a million metric tonnes of carbon emissions – which it said is equivalent to taking 100,000 fuel-based cars off the road.
An additional feature that will soon be rolled out will allow European users to choose their vehicle’s engine type – petrol, diesel, hybrid or EV – on the Google Maps app.
This means they can get personalised suggestions for the most fuel-efficient routes based on their engine.
Google said that technology behind the features was made possible because of data from the European Environment Agency and insights from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
“By pairing this information with Google Maps driving trends, we were able to develop advanced machine learning models trained on the most popular engine types in a given region,” Rubén Lozano-Aguilera, a product manager at Google Maps, wrote.
READ MORE: Climate change: Numbers 'don't add up' on Ireland's sectoral emissions ceilings
