I’d like to map riding trails, which are definetly not drivable.
I can edit the maps afterwards, but it would be better to have the trails be marked at creation.
I also can see some local wazer is appearently wazing on bicycle, as some of the “biscuit roads” are not roads, but bike paths. That is kinda cheating 
, at least useless for me driving a car.
So what’s your question actualy?
It’s no problem to record non-drivable roads. There not used for routing.
Be sure if you do so, edit them afterwards to a non drivable road.
There is a uservoice request out there for “vehicle type” to specify while routing, so that you could say, ride your bike and not affect traffic reporting and routing for cars. I believe your request would be to use this vehicle type when recording a new road to automatically set the road to something like “4x4 trails” for ATV recreation.
While this idea may have merit, keep in mind that someone still has to confirm the road segments and edit them for location accuracy in a map editor before they will appear on the map, so selecting a few segments and then before saving, changing the road type to something else is about a 2 second gain in time. I’m not sure that’s worth the time spent in coding changes, debugging, implementation, users finding bugs, code changes, …
Why would anyone want to use Waze when riding their bicycle anyway? It’s not designed for that.
There are plenty of other navigation applications that are tailored to pedestrians and bicycles.
There is a desire from some people to use Waze for more than just personal automobiles. And really, when it comes to collecting “data,” perhaps someone has an idea of what to use for bicycle or ATV use data.
I can see the road reports now:
It’s like using facial tissue instead of toilet paper :lol:
And I want to use my bread toaster to bake whole chickens. I am going to write a suggestion to the Kitchen Aid that they must change their design.
I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again. I see waze as primarily a commuting tool. If waze can tell me that the auto traffic is so bad that I would get to work faster on a bicylce, I would want that information.
I wholeheartedly agree. It’s my wish that Waze will someday include information for bicycles, cars, AND public transportation.
Yes, you have.
But if your commute is more than 1 mile a bicycle is never going to be faster.
In addition, since Waze is not currently designed for bicycles or pedestrians if someone is using Waze like this, it is damaging the experience for people who are using it for it’s intended use - commuting in a motorized vehicle (not specifically tractor trailer’s). It’s not currently designed to be used like this. If they have a big demand for these features and add them so that they don’t interfere with the current usage, fine.
But I think that Waze has a lot of more important things to be doing such as making their infrastructure more fault tolerant, getting Papyrus out of Alpha, decreasing the abandon rate of Wazers who are dissatisfied when trying Waze out, improving the map update request process, etc.
There are other apps that are optimized for public transportation - why not use one of those to find public transportation schedules, stops, etc? Public transportation really is very, very different than the current use of Waze.
If you are riding on a bus that is stopping every 2 minutes to pick up passengers it is likely generating traffic reports and slowing down the average segment speed. And since likely you are not driving the bus, you can’t make any routing changes since the bus is on a fixed route. So Waze does not benefit you as a passenger of a bus. And likely the drivers are restricted from using a Smartphone and are not going to be deviating from their fixed bus route because there is a traffic jam ahead.
Waze is all about helping you find the fastest route to your destination. Sometimes, the fastest route is by bus or trolley. People may want to know about that.
Sure, there are dedicated public transportation apps out there right now. You tell me, what’s more ideal: having three different apps for different purposes (public transportation, car, bicycle), or having ONE app that can do all of that?
Note that I used the phrase “will someday include” in my original reply. So the argument of a bus passenger generating traffic reports/slowing down the average speed of the segment is completely irrelevant. I never said that I hope people will start using Waze on public transportation with the way it’s set up now. Waze would have to take into account all of those concerns if they ever added support for alternative transportation methods.
Obviously I agree that there are many, MANY things that have a higher priority than adding support for alternative transportation. Just because there are things that need to be done first doesn’t mean that this can’t be done in the future. (Again, emphasis on the “will someday include” phrase…)
Really? I thought Waze was currently designed for getting you to your destination, in the fastest time, by driving (car and other similar vehicles). Where is Waze marketing this app as find the fastest route to your destination by any type of transportation method?
Per the description of the Waze application in the Apple App store:
“Waze is a free social traffic and navigation app that uses real-time road reports from drivers nearby to save commuting time and improve your everyday driving”
Yes, I understand there are a lot of things that would be nice for Waze to be able to accommodate. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that it doesn’t do these things now, is not currently designed for these other functions, should not be used for things such as riding your bicycle or as passenger on a bus, trolley, train, airplane, etc.
Obviously it isn’t meant for other uses now. I don’t think we’ve EVER suggested going out and using Waze on a bicycle, bus, etc.
It’s also obvious that a LOT of people would like Waze to expand to other modes of transportation:
http://waze.uservoice.com/forums/59225-cartouche-map-editor-and-waze-com-website/suggestions/825175-use-vehicle-type?ref=title
http://waze.uservoice.com/forums/59225-cartouche-map-editor-and-waze-com-website/suggestions/784039-public-transportation-system?ref=title
http://waze.uservoice.com/forums/59223-client-how-can-we-improve-waze-on-your-phone-/suggestions/825243-use-vehicle-type?ref=title
Totally understood. Uservoice and the suggestions forum is the place to ask for new features.
Really straying off-topic.
If you have a chance, read several hundred reviews of Waze in the Apple App Store or Android Market. Although the reviews are generally very positive (I believe that since Waze is free, people that review it take that into account. If Waze wasn’t free I think the reviews would be lower), the same negative issues keep coming up. I think this gives a better picture into what the ‘regular’ users expect. I read every single review that is posted to the Apple App store. Waze really needs to address these things:
‘Bad routing.’ As we map editors know, this is related to the quality of the maps. Dealing with the major roads is very important but we also need to be aware that if someone can’t route home or to work likely Waze is deemed ‘not working’ and it get’s uninstalled. Likely this is why Waze has paid staff also updating maps (IGN_ editors). They understand that if the map has issues then the product doesn’t work properly. Most people don’t have the patience to find the source of the problem and update the map or post in the forum for help. And most people don’t know that the maps are generally user maintained.
‘Map is not up to date.’ My neighborhood is missing, etc. Again, maps need to be updated. Neighborhood level.
‘Waze takes me on toll roads that I want to avoid.’ Waze needs to add support to be able to avoid toll roads.
‘App. is too distracting and requires too much input. App is not safe.’ I think we all understand the concern here. TTS is an enhancement in this area.
‘Battery hog’. Simple solution, buy a car charger. This is typical of most/all smartphone GPS applications not specific to Waze.
These are the issues I see coming up again and again. No, I don’t have a scientific analysis so it’s possible that there are other frequently called out issues also.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waze-gps-traffic-social-fun!/id323229106?mt=8
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.waze&hl=en
really good analysis. And most I think could be addressed, with some simple explanation of why this product differs from the commercial GPSs. Don’t just let them start the application up, and on first failure, think the product is <bleep>. Show how the product can be better (eventually).