Basics
Please note that this is not a comprehensive document on how to edit maps on wme. The scope of this page does not cover the basics of editing, rather this page is conceived to explain the guidlines we follow in India. If you are new to waze and would like to learn the nuances of map editing, YouTube video tutorials on the basics are created for your reference.
Please watch this playlist to see all the video tutorials made for new editors in India
We expect all new editors to go through these videos and read this wazeopedia page before making their first edits. Onboarding process we follow mandates working with a mentor before more features and areas could be unlocked. This should not be viewed as an attempt of gate keeping, rather this is a humble request so that the time and effort you are putting for making an edit will not go futile. Now that you have an understanding on what you can expect down the page, lets start.
Principles of mapping
Waze is built as a navigation system, not a topographic map, so the focus is on creating a simple, clear, and effective map that functions well on small smartphone screens.
We follow four key principles:
- KISS: Keep it simple and straightforward.
- No Deletes: Each segment on Waze holds valuable data, such as historical traffic and average speed at specific times of day. This information is essential for route calculation and ETA estimation, and is lost when a segment is deleted. Whenever possible, reuse the segment instead of deleting it.
- Declutter: The map is designed to improve the driving experience, so we focus on changes that directly benefit drivers. We aim to keep the map as close to reality as possible, without cluttering the screen or overcomplicating the display.
- Safe travels : Accurate road mapping is crucial for ensuring the safety of travelers, especially as the number of accidents caused by incorrect or outdated maps continues to rise. By maintaining precise, up-to-date maps, we can help prevent dangerous navigation errors and guide drivers safely to their destinations.
Making edits
Many new editors initially try to match the Waze map perfectly with the satellite image. They may split roads, add walking trails, make roads overly detailed, and draw intricate places. However, it’s important to remember that Waze is not a topographical map but a navigation system designed to route you to your destination in the fastest and most efficient way. To keep the Waze map effective, simplicity is key. The fewer the details, the clearer the map, with less data usage, faster route calculations, and easier maintenance. With that in mind, let’s get started with editing the map!
Adding new roads
Indian cities are growing rapidly, with new roads being built and existing roads getting upgraded. If you spot any roads on the satellite layer that haven’t been added to the map, please confirm their existence before adding them. Do NOT add any roads unless you have one of the following:
- Clear GPS tracks that follow the road when the GPS Points layer is turned on (Alt+G) .
- Confirmation from the Street View feature, where available.
- Local knowledge or confirmation from a local editor.
If you’re unsure about the drivability of an existing road, please avoid deleting it without prior discussion with the local area manager or one of the champs. When extending a road, always ensure that it is fully completed and properly connected before making any changes.
Not every road is meant to be added on the map. Any road under construction without official inauguration or traffic being allowed by authorities should not be mapped. Roads inside sensitive establishments and military cantonments should not be mapped. Also, do not map roads near the International borders. Any missing roads and major changes in those areas should be communicated with the Country Managers (CM), listed below.
Adding new roads is important, but selecting the appropriate road type is equally critical. With the rapid urbanization occurring across India, road networks are being upgraded at a fast pace. Simultaneously, as traffic congestion increases in cities and towns, narrow streets and alleyways are often used as shortcuts, particularly by bikes. This leads to GPS tracks appearing along these roads, making it essential to verify with the local editor or State Manager before mapping such roads as Streets. Proper confirmation ensures accurate and safe mapping, reflecting the true nature of the road network.
Road and city names
Waze has 4 properties that can be populated for each road (segment on Waze). This appears on top left after a segment is selected: Street, City, State, Country.
As a ground rule, always use English as the primary language for road names. Name(s) in local language can be added as Alternate name. There is a restriction on the number of characters that can be shown on the app, so try to avoid lengthy road names. Long names will also cause issues with the Text-To-Speech (TTS) (voice instructions in the app) too. Previously we used to encourage abbreviations like “Rd” instead of Road, “St” instead of street etc. With the new mapping philosophy to match Waze text to road signs, these are now being phased out.
Finding the official road name in India is quite a challenge. Often there will be no names and at times there will be more than one. You might even find same road name being used for different roads within the same city. Also, it is very common to find the road name as “Place A to Place B Road”. Acknowledging all those challenges, whenever a new road is created, an effort should be made to give a name to the road. If no names could be identified, name it as “Place A - Place B Road”. Where available, the spelling and road name on a road sign should always be populated on Waze so as not to confuse Wazers while driving by giving names different to what they actually see on the road.
A similar challenge exists for the City name too. During a previous import of the base map from a non-Waze source, a lot of cities were created, some of them even on ward levels. It is not unusual to find a new city name for every kilometre or so. Since we cannot provide a complete address of a road using the existing fields available on the Waze map editor, we have set some ground rules for this.
Instead of creating new cities that maybe towns or major city areas, we are now in the process of consolidating the city names. As per the newly agreed rule, District name should be used as the City name, unless a City name matches the actual city name. For example: even though Andheri is a suburb of Mumbai, it shouldn’t be used in City name, instead it should used in the Road name field. So the road name (Street) will be like “Main Road, Andheri” and City field as Mumbai. This way, users searching for a place in the app will be able to see the complete address and not get routed to “Main Road, Bandra”. Applying the same rule, “Big Bazaar Road” in Paravur, a place in the Ernakulam district in Kerala should be named as Street = “Big Bazaar Road, Paravur” and City field as “Ernakulam”.
Speed limits
Another feature not so ubiquitous on an Indian road is the speed sign. They are scarce in many cities and mostly concealed in the roadside artifacts becoming a “find me if you can”. People are generally restricted only to the speed of the traffic than an enforced one. However, in line with our basic principles, we should always add a speed limit (on Primary Streets and higher priority road types) to a segment that exists on Waze Map Editor. In addition to the safety reasons, segments with speed limits will provide a close to the real-world figures when it comes to routing an ETA calculation on the app. Since it is very difficult to obtain the official speed limits from official sources, we use NHAI and State Transport Department issued limits as a general rule and in line with the speed limits set on similar roads elsewhere in the state. Please contact your editing Mentor or State Manager to know the speed limits in your editing area and the default speed limits.
Locks
As in any other platform, rogue elements have made their way to the Waze Map editing too. Measures are being introduced by Waze to curtail such attempts. In addition to the existing restrictions imposed by Waze for new editors, as a safe practice for the Indian Waze map, we are now locking all new roads to a level of 2 or above, depending on the type of road.
Nevertheless, that should not restrict any new prospective new editor from improving the map. The new “suggest an edit” feature in WME takes care of the locked segments as any editor can submit changes to any road locked above them. A senior editor will then check and approve these for you or suggest improvements that align with our guidelines. This way new editors also get mentoring so they can increase their confidence without accidentally spoiling the map or breaking parts of routing. You can always also request for unlocks from any of the higher-level editors. Having said that, you should try to restrict your edits to your edit levels, at least in the beginning few months. The feature access sheet has been designed to have editors of each level have enough to do on the map so they can get experience and become experts before they get promoted to higher level with more feature access.
As you increase your editing levels, always remember Uncle Ben from Spiderman
With great power comes great responsibility
| Road type | Recommended lock level |
|---|---|
| Freeway (Motorway) (Eg: Express ways and dual carriage highways) | L4 |
| Toll segments (all types of roads) | L5 |
| Major Highways (Eg :National Highways) | L4 |
| Minor Highways (Eg: State Highways) | L3 |
| Ramps | L3 |
| Primary Streets (Eg: Service roads, MDRs and City roads) | L2 |
| Streets | L1 |
Road Types
Road type classifications in Waze are based on the physical layout and function of the road, rather than its name. The classification of a road does not impact its name.
Several factors, such as city size, traffic density, and regional conventions, can influence road type classifications. For instance, in large cities, a primary street may have multiple lanes in each direction, while in rural areas, a single lane road might be classified as primary streets or highways if necessary for navigation.
While editing maps, you may encounter roads that are incorrectly labeled.
Accurate labeling of roads is important for two reasons:
- At higher zoom levels, larger roads should be visible first. Incorrect labels can cause confusion when viewing the map at zoomed-out levels.
- During route planning, major roads are prioritized over smaller roads.
Before changing the road type of highways, please consult with a senior editor to avoid potential routing issues.
General Guidelines
Please use this as a guideline and not as a rule
- Main roads in a district or town should be classified as Primary.
- Roads that serve through traffic or connect districts or towns over long distances should be classified as Minor Highway (mH)
- Main interconnecting roads with fast traffic should be classified as Major Highway (MH)
- Always aim to connect roads of the same or higher classification. For example, Waze should be able to route from Primary to Primary (or higher), Minor to Minor (or higher), Major to Major (or higher), and Freeway to Freeway. This ensures the routing engine can calculate routes based on roads of equal or higher classification.
In some cases, small roads may need to be upgraded to Minor Highway (mH) to allow for long-distance routing. If you’re uncertain about this, please consult with state manager or mentor for clarification.
While the following conventions should be adhered to whenever possible, we understand that exceptions may be necessary in certain situations.
Road Shields
As a part of improving the visual elements in the app, Road shields are available on all segments in India. As of now, road shields for National Higways and State Highways are already available for use. This feature is currently restricted to editors of level L3 and above. If there is a need for adding a road shield to any new road you created, please contact the State Manager.
Hazards
We understand that many of you may want to add a new camera in your area. However, due to misuse of this feature by certain users, the ability to add cameras is currently restricted to higher-level editors. If you’d like to add a camera, please reach out to your mentor or state manager, who can assist by adding the camera to the map on your behalf. With recent updates from Waze, cameras are now categorized under Hazards. Along with the previously available Red Light Cameras, Speed Cameras, and Dummy Cameras, two new camera types have been introduced: Seat Belt Cameras and Mobile Phone Cameras. Please note that Average Speed Cameras are not part of the Hazard category; instead, they are available as an attribute to a road segment.
One common request we receive from users is to mark traffic signals on the map. Unfortunately, this is not a feature supported by Waze at the time of writing this document. However, as an alternative, we can add a Complex Junction hazard, which will appear as an alert on the app.
Speed bumps (or speed breakers) are categorized under Hazard and are currently only accessible to higher-level editors. If you’d like to add a speed bump in your area, please reach out to your mentor or state manager, who can assist with adding it to the map.
Tolls
Toll prices on Waze is handled outside the Waze Map Editor using a tool that is accessible only to designated users. Toll prices in India are handled by HappySwift and McLarenMCL38. Toll pricing, eventhough managed using an external tool, requires certain attributes of the segments on waze map editor. To avoid changes to these attributes, toll road and adjacent segments are locked to L5 or above.
Each road segment in Waze is assigned a segment ID, and each end of the segment is associated with a node ID. These identifiers are used by the toll tool to retrieve price information for the segment. When a road segment is edited, such as when a new road is added or the segment is altered, the segment ID and node IDs may change. However, the external tool that manages the toll prices does not automatically synchronize with these changes. This will lead to discrepancies on the tool and the toll price information will fail. It is important to ensure that any changes to road segments are properly coordinated with the external system that handles toll prices to avoid issues with toll price synchronization. Please reach out to the co-ordinators before making any changes to the toll segments.
Last updated on 22 December 2024