Wife started a new job downtown this week (she's not familiar with downtown) so she's been using Apple Maps to help her navigate home (or at least get out of downtown pointed home).

Last night there was a big accident on one of the major freeways but it happened after she's already left the office and was 5-8m into her 20m commute.

Apple maps didn't alert her and she only knew what was going on b/c the freeway sign showed it went to one lane about 5-miles ahead of her. So she existed and re-routed herself from memory of where to go, but it ended up not being the most efficient route home. She's not good with directions or navigation so last night when I got home I started listing all her options her eyes just glassed over!

I know Waze does auto-rerouting for traffic/accidents, but I've also read it can be somewhat aggressive (like take you on a meandering 20-turn route to save 2-minutes).

How does Google compare and will it alert and auto-reroute you around delays that are say 10m or longer?

If she was almost halfway into her commute, do you think Google or Waze will know faster? These systems aren't instantaneous with knowing something has happened. They rely on reporting and traffic patterns/speeds of other cars to predict what has happened. That takes time. Logic and thought from the driver are still required for these things.

I used to use Waze but stopped because it would reroute me through a neighborhood with 14 stop signs to save 52 seconds. When Apple redid Maps a few years ago, I gave it a shot and have been using it since. It does offer reroutes throughout the drive, but as stated, that stuff takes time for any of them to know. On Monday, I was driving to work and it asked if I wanted to be rerouted to Beltway 8 to save like 25 minutes. I knew there had to be an accident somewhere due to the time saved, and when I zoomed out on the map, I saw an accident at Tidwell on 59, so I took 8 and saved a half hour.

When she saw the freeway warning, she zoomed out on her map screen and saw it was all red up ahead, but Apple maps didn't re-route or warn her at all.

It's really more to help her navigate the alternates. She got off and went right because she knew what street was that way and knew it would get her in the general right direction. Butt took her 40m to get home instead of 20m. If she'd have gone left she could have saved at least 10m but just didn't know.

Again, she just not good with directions and navigation.

Once she gets a few months in it will be better b/c she'll be more familiar with her escape routes, but right now she's blind b/c she's just never spend much time in those areas of town.

When we lived in Houston and I commuted from Cypress to the med center, I had like 4-routes home. I would check transtar before I left the office to know the easiest route home. Sometimes I was on surface streets most of the way home and it added 15m to my normal route, but the normal route would have been a mess that day.

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It's really more to help her navigate the alternates. She got off and went right because she knew what street was that way and knew it would get her in the general right direction. Butt took her 40m to get home instead of 20m. If she'd have gone left she could have saved at least 10m but just didn't know.

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Maybe it knew that sitting in traffic was faster than taking the surface streets since doing so added about 20 minutes to her commute. I live in Kingwood but work in the Energy Corridor (luckily, only go in a couple times a week), so I know about sitting in traffic and having multiple alternate routes. What I've found is cutting through the Heights vs just taking the lumps in traffic on I-10 doesn't really save any time, but I feel a bit better because I'm moving rather than sitting.

I just don't see how any of the navigation apps will just reroute you for an accident unless there's a significant time savings, and even then, it takes them a while to know there's an issue that's causing those delays.

Not exactly what you're asking, but I find Waze is better at all times except rush hour. Waze adjusts your arrival time quickly as traffic builds, but Google seems better at predicting/knowing how morning and afternoon traffic will build. Both are superior to your in-car navigation. As far as reroutes, sometimes you have to go off-route to get either to re-route. Seems like they only re-check your route every 3 or 4 minutes otherwise. Apple maps used to be worse than Waze or google, not sure if it still is.

Waze also has user input data as well... so i find that really helpful sometimes.

I use Waze almost exclusively for the crowd sourced traffic feature. However, I will occasionally disagree with its route, and once it recognizes what I've done, the expected arrival time ends up being quicker. What's up with that?

I use Apple Maps. It offers me alternate routes all the time but they are slower.

"Would you like to take this route and add 12 minutes to your trip? No?! What about this one? It adds 18 minutes!"

It's a running joke with the wife every time we go on a trip.

Google has had some weird changes, for example, while driving west on I20, it came up that I needed to take a 90 degree right turn to stay on 20. Then while on a freeway it'll randomly remind you not to take an exit but to stay on.

I hated Waze for the reasons mentioned above. It would even have me exit a highway and get right back on the highway for no reason many, many times. WTF?

I've been using Apple Maps for a couple of years now since they finally got it upgraded and working properly and I like it but I do feel like Google Maps (from my experiences 2+ years ago) is still a bit better for more real-time traffic stuff.

Apple almost never has me take a different route. It's extremely rare to get diverted with it in my experience so I'm not sure if it's working well or not on that front.

I just look at the traffic map and base my route based on that.

My guess is that there will be less and less difference between Google Maps and Waze going forward since Google Maps purchased Waze.

Google to merge mapping service Waze with maps products teams | CNN Business

It wouldn't surprise me, either, for Google to end up shutting Waze down eventually.

rynning said:

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I use Waze almost exclusively for the crowd sourced traffic feature. However, I will occasionally disagree with its route, and once it recognizes what I've done, the expected arrival time ends up being quicker. What's up with that?

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This. I can't trust Waze when it's original route plan is 30 minutes longer than Google.

I use Google and it seems to work well for me but I don't take the silly re-routes that only save 2 minutes. It has helped me many times when there's a wreck or something major on the freeway.

It also depends on the commute, in some cases there just isn't a good alternative.

Apple sucks. Waze used to be better, Google is best since Waze purchase.

Make sure settings are correct for highways, tolls, and "Eco" so you get routes based on travel time not BS.

Jabin said:

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My guess is that there will be less and less difference between Google Maps and Waze going forward since Google Maps purchased Waze.

Google to merge mapping service Waze with maps products teams | CNN Business

It wouldn't surprise me, either, for Google to end up shutting Waze down eventually.

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I believe they have been using Waze's traffic technology in some capacity for nearly 10 years now. Some people are die hard waze fans, I don't expect it to go anywhere soon.

Apple Maps is great if you're a Robert Frost fan.

A friend of mine used to work as a contractor for Apple's Apple Maps. He doesn't use Apple Maps in his car. All you need to know.

HumbleAg04 said:

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Apple sucks. Waze used to be better, Google is best since Waze purchase.

Make sure settings are correct for highways, tolls, and "Eco" so you get routes based on travel time not BS.

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Agree.

And disagree with the poster saying not to expect Google to update. It definitely will update.

When we came back to the office in 2021, I'd check Google and Apple to compare. Apple had me taking the same route every, single day. Didn't matter what traffic was like. Google would suggest alternatives if the normal route was 5ish minutes longer than normal. And was usually pretty accurate timing wise.

Google is the best overall. Cleanest UI, easiest carplay app to use, and most accurate ETA. In my experience, it won't re-route you unless it's saving you 5+ minutes, so I do have the occasional times where I take a slight detour on my own and it reduces my ETA.

What Google is really good at is knowing quickly whether you stayed on the highway or went down the ramp. With Apple and Waze, they often take too long after I've kept going or gone down a ramp, and they don't give me updated directions quickly enough. It's rare that these things are actually an issue, but it's super frustrating when they are.

Do any of them handle managed (variable) toll lanes? I like Waze, but the toll roads setting is binary. I very rarely choose a route where the toll is unknown.