Level3 Update: Reading - Reading (The Forbury)

Map Editors Community United Kingdom UK Editor Requests
1

My Level: 2
Reason for request: A UR has come up which clearly shows Waze trying to route along this restricted bus route. It is locked to L3 so am unable to deal with this UR properly myself.

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The route is for busses and “wheelchair-accessible” taxis only according to the sign. On Waze, it is permitted for busses and taxis - Waze has no distinction between different types of taxi.

Could you please ask the reporter whether he had vehicle type set to “taxi” in the app (as opposed to the default “private car”.

If the app setting is for “private car”, then Waze should not have routed this way, and we have a problem which needs investigating.

If the app setting is “taxi”, then Waze is functioning correctly.

Global Champs have been having a discussion about what constitutes a taxi in terms of road signs and in terms of Waze. I think the answer is that it varies from place to place. :frowning:

We are consulting an editor who is also a taxi driver, and he hasn’t got back to us yet, so this may change, but for the moment I think the consensus is:

  • in Reading, the local authority only permits vehicles with wheelchair access to be called taxis. Other vehicles may be licensed for private hire - that is, they can take bookings but they can’t cruise the streets looking for trade - but they can’t use taxi lanes.

  • therefore the Waze map is correct to mark this road as accessible for taxis, as everything regarded by the Reading local authority as a taxi can use this road.

  • if the reporter is driving a private hire vehicle, which in Reading is not a taxi, he should have the app set for “private hire” and not for “taxi”.

  • however, the situation is different in other local authorities. If Wazers wish to use the “taxi” setting in the app, it is incumbent on them to set according to the regulations of the local authority where they are driving - which could potentially mean changing the setting as they cross borders :frowning:

Bet you didn’t expect such a long response :wink:

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Thanks for the long response indeed :stuck_out_tongue: I have responded to the UR but haven’t closed it. @atrophicshiner also explained that this could well have been to do with a sever issue in regards to restricted roads as a number of these that I have picked up on all happened around the 17.30 mark give or take 10 mins or so.