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Welcome to Waze Laos!

If you’re new to Waze Community - Welcome! We are doing amazing things together and we can’t wait for you to join us.

Thank you for your interest in editing the Laos map for Waze!

We are vibrant community, map lovers and enthusiasts who share the same mission: Fight traffic together! We’re helping over 130 million people get where they need to go.

The magic of Waze has always been the people behind the technology - locals who report potholes, redraw roads, and find ways to make driving better for everyone.

Editing Community Team

The current active community is completely made up of international editors. Please contact one of the editors in the chart below for further information.

Editor User Name Rank Role Edits in Home Country
kyhtak 5 Country Coordinator Entire country United States
leinerg 5 Country Booster Entire country Costa Rica
Dutchdirt 6 Country Manager Entire country Netherlands

Help and Getting Answers to Your Questions

This link will take you to Waze Discuss Laos Platform. We can answer your questions about Map editing and help you get started editing the Waze Map in Laos.

Below is a beginning outline of what we want to include in the Laos Wazeopedia.

  • We will add information to each section as we write it.
  • We will not do them in the order they are in here.
  • We will probably have to add, rename, move, and delete sections to best work with mapping in Laos.

Laos Wazeopedia – A Work in Progress

If you live in Laos, we would love to have your help. Read along and join the Waze Laos editing community.

About Waze

Waze is a free navigation app for your GPS equipped smartphone and provides the following features:

  • Spoken turn-by-turn directions
  • Spoken street names (Text-to-Speech)
  • Real-time traffic reports
  • Real-time Gas Prices
  • Toll road avoidance
  • Free regular updates to the map that you can help make are installed automatically
  • Search for destinations how you like: entire address at once, category, place name, landmark or use the addresses from your contacts
  • Integrated destination search with a massive country-wide database and Google
  • Support for apps to insert destinations into Waze, such as Localscope
  • Support for multiple languages
  • Gaming elements for fun and integrated social networking

Waze is crowd-sourced, meaning it is maintained by its users. The Waze map (Waze Map Editor, or WME) is updated and maintained by real people (like you) who volunteer their time to make Waze what it is. Waze users and Waze map editors form a community, who work together locally (as well as internationally) to improve the map for everyone.

Some general editing principles apply to all countries. The Global Wiki gives a good explanation of these basic principles.

Each country has unique challenges, which require modified editing practices specific to that country. This page focuses on map editing in Laos. If you want to know more about a subject, you will find many links in this document that take you to other pages with detailed explanations. If you open them while you press Ctrl, the linked pages will open in another tab and keep this Laos page open.

WME Training

We have also this new WME Training: Basic Course, to help you know how to make good editions. It is a new tool designed to make your life easier and their learning faster.

Community

Roads in Laos

Laos has an extensive network of national roads that connect various parts of the country and facilitate regional trade and travel. Here are some key points about the national roads in Laos:

  1. National Road 2 (NR2): This road is a significant east-west corridor linking Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. It consists of two sections: NR2 West (NR2W) connecting with the Thai border and NR2 East (NR2E) connecting with the Vietnamese border12. The road is part of the Asian Highway Network (AH13) and plays a crucial role in regional connectivity and economic development.
  2. National Road 13 (NR13): This is the main north-south route in Laos, running from the Chinese border in the north to the Cambodian border in the south. It passes through major cities like Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Pakse, making it a vital artery for domestic travel and trade.
  3. National Road 14 (NR14): This road runs through the southern part of Laos, connecting Pakse with the Cambodian border. It is essential for accessing the southern provinces and facilitating cross-border trade with Cambodia.
  4. Other National Roads: Laos has several other national roads that connect provincial capitals, district centers, and important commercial and historical sites. These roads are crucial for local connectivity and economic activities.

Road Types

Importance of road types

Road types are important for both routing and map display:

  1. When planning a route, major roads will sometimes get priority over smaller roads.
    • For longer routes, some lower road types will often be ignored outright in favor of higher-type roads.
    • Since freeways are given the highest priority of all, having other high-type roads is necessary to provide viable alternatives to the routing server in case freeways are clogged with traffic.
  2. When viewing the map, more important roads should appear at the far zoom levels. Without proper types, the zoomed out display can be misleading.
  3. Certain other drivable road types generate transition penalties when a route leaves them onto a different road type.
    • This can be useful for areas like private installations but can also cause dramatic and unexpected routing results.

Public roads

Public roads are those that can be driven by anyone. Naturally, they are by far the most important roads on the Waze map.

The Freeway and Ramp road types each have their own special rules. The Major Highway, Minor Highway, and Primary Street types are designated using a set of minimum criteria, as explained below.

Highways

A highway is an arterial road.

Highway roads are the backbone of the traffic network. They serve a dual purpose:

  • to carry traffic over long distances, from one city to another, and
  • to carry traffic from collector roads to freeways, where applicable.

Functional classification of roads is determined more by how the roads are used than by how they are constructed, and the criteria are slightly different between urban and rural areas. Because of this, some urban roads may be classified as arterials and have highway types in Waze, even though they appear very similar to other non-highway roads. In using functional classification and numbered highway systems, the decision on which roads should be classified as highways rests ultimately with the governments that build and maintain the roads.

Waze distinguishes three classes of highway: Freeway, Major Highway, and Minor Highway.

Freeway

A freeway is a highway designed for high speed traffic, with fully controlled access over entrance to, and exit from, the highway.

  • Roads classified in FHWA’s functional classification as Other Freeways and Expressways which meet the criteria of a controlled-access highway:
    • No at-grade crossings.
    • No at-grade intersections.
    • No direct property access.
    • No stop lights (except sometimes on ramps).
    • No stop signs.
    • Except at the beginning or end of the controlled-access roadway, connected to other roads exclusively by interchanges:
      • Entrance via ramps only, typically with acceleration zones.
      • Exit via ramps only, typically with deceleration zones.
      • Note: Many freeways continue as non-controlled-access roadways; the road should be set as Freeway until the point at which access becomes non-controlled

Major Highway

Principal arterials are the primary routes for traveling throughout the country, from one city to another, over long distances.

Minor Highway

Minor arterials (or other arterials) are secondary routes for traveling between cities over moderately long distances. Minor or other arterials are classified in Waze as Minor Highways.

Ramps

The following are to be classified as Ramp .

  • Roads which connect roadways to other roadways as part of an interchange. This includes all freeway exits and entrances.

Ramp names do not appear on the client application map, but do appear in the text for routing directions. Entrance and exit ramps often contain a lot of text which is duplicative of roads already in the area, so this text is suppressed until the user actually needs it.

Streets

The Street types are for local and short-distance travel. Street types are used at the beginning and end of long routes as well.

Primary Street

Collectors are roads used with medium-low traffic densities which are used to bring traffic from local streets to arterials and vice versa. Collectors are classified in Waze as Primary Streets.

Unpaved roads – including gravel, macadam, and dirt roads – are considered on a regional basis. Normally it has to be checked by locals.

Street

Any road for public travel which does not meet the criteria for any other type shall be classified as a Street. Shown as “local roads” in some functional classification maps; not shown at all in others.

Passageway

This type of road is designed for public roads that only allow vehicles narrower than cars. At this time, DO NOT use the type of road through Laos without explicit approval from the Coordinator on a case-by-case basis.

Unpaved checkbox

The unpaved checkbox is an attribute that can be applied to any road type. It indicates that a road is not paved with asphalt or concrete. The unpaved attribute affects routing over drivable road types; it does not really affect non-drivable road types, since the client does not use them for routing. Based on user preference, destination, and other settings options, the Waze client may avoid routing them over otherwise drivable segments when the ‘unpaved’ attribute is checked. Many of the roads in Laos are unpaved, so, for now, it has no sense to check the mark in the segments. It would be part of what have to do the local editors.

Other drivable roads

Off-road / Not maintained Road

The Off-road / Not maintained (formerly Dirt Road / 4x4 and Unpaved) segment type had the unique property that Waze users could ask not to be routed over it. That function has now shifted to the Unpaved attribute check box (see above).

Off-road / Not maintained roads are typically deeply rutted with thick mud, irregularly shaped rocks, fallen trees, branches, and deep streams, creeks, or river crossings. A typical car would bottom out, get stuck, or even break an axle trying to traverse these types of road segments. The vast majority of vehicles would not be traveling down these roads. This segment type should strictly be used by a type of hard terrain/special vehicle.

Any road for which high-clearance vehicles are recommended or required should be assigned the Off-road / Not maintained type, if it is mapped at all, regardless of its maintenance status.

Currently, Waze does not plan to support a 4X4 vehicle type in the client app, but the developers have left this option for editors to map these paths, so they can be displayed on the map. They have an extremely high penalty associated with them and will not be suggested for any through routes in most ordinary circumstances.

Check your state page for details on whether your state follows unique guidelines for hard terrain/special vehicle roads, or contact your Regional Coordinator for further guidance.

Many of the roads in Laos are unpaved and unmaintained. For now, it is best not to use these types of roads unless absolutely necessary so as not to affect routing.

Parking Lot Road

Parking lots, along with other publicly accessible roads such as alleys that should not be used for traffic routing unless directly at the start or end point of a route.

Mapping the roads inside parking lots serves the following purposes:

  1. It allows Waze to provide door-to-door directions to Places within the lot.
  2. It allows Waze to recognize that the client is off the main road, avoiding erroneous traffic reports.
  3. The Parking Lot Road road type prevents routes from transiting the lots to other destinations.
  4. It allows Waze to calculate estimated times for walking from the parking lot to destinations, and to calculate walking times for users leaving Places near the lot.

The Parking Lot Road type exists to allow proper navigation into and out of parking lots while discouraging routes through parking lots. Waze applies a penalty to routes which transition from Parking Lot Road to other road types. This transition penalty decreases the chances that Waze will route through a parking lot as a shortcut but doesn’t interfere with navigation to or from points within parking lots. Avoid mixing road types within a parking lot so as to avoid triggering the transition penalty unnecessarily

  • Use Parking Lot Road type for all necessary segments in the Parking Lot.
  • Parking Lot Road type should be used inside Apartment Complexes, Schools, and Universities unless it meets the criteria for Private Road found in the next section below.
  • Parking Lot Roads have a transition penalty when exiting the Parking Lot road segment. This should prevent Waze from routing you through a Parking Lot or an alley as a shortcut.
  • Parking Lot Roads can be used to avoid “missing road” automated Map Problem reports.
  • Parking Lot Roads can be used to prevent Waze from assuming drivers driving slowly or parked in the parking lot are in a traffic jam on the main road draw in the drivable portions of the parking lot that are near outside roadways.
  • Waze will not highlight slow speeds (automatically detected traffic jams) on Parking Lot Roads

Private Road

Private roads are useful for the following situations:

  • Gated communities with controlled access
  • Schools and Universities (gates / guard)
  • Businesses with controlled access (gates / guard)

As with Parking Lot Roads, a route over a Private Road will incur a transition penalty upon leaving it for another road type. This transition penalty keeps Waze from routing Wazers through a private area as a shortcut. Unlike Parking Lot Roads, however, Private Roads do not suppress automated traffic-jam detection.

  • Never use the Private Road type for unrestricted public roads
  • Do not use the Private Road type to try to force waze to route around slow (damaged or under construction) public roads. Talk to a routing expert to find out if there are any good solutions.
  • Waze handles Private Roads similarly to how it handles Parking Lot Roads, but not exactly the same.
    • Similarity: Waze routing adds a penalty to a route that goes from a Private Road segment to a segment of a different type.
    • Difference: Waze will highlight traffic slowdowns on Private Roads.

Non-drivable roads

Walking Trails

Pedestrian paths (US English) or walking trails (default English) are a set of non-drivable road types with unique properties and which are created as a category separate from other roads. Although the names of these types may suggest that Waze supports routing for pedestrians, in fact the Waze app is intended only for drivers of motor vehicles, and Waze has no plans to support any other application. Waze editors instead use pedestrian paths for a few different applications that improve routing or display for drivers, and these applications are described in the sections for each type.

Use of pedestrian paths requires special care and caution, because cyclists and pedestrians who use Waze near drivable roads can harm routing for drivers! By Wazing at speeds different from nearby traffic, they can create false traffic indications and even influence Waze’s records of average road and turn speeds. Therefore, editors should only map roads that increase usefulness to Wazers driving motor vehicles, and any road that only encourages or benefits non-driving Wazers should not be mapped.

Railroad

The railroad road type serves two purposes in Waze. First, it provides drivers with visual orientation relative to railroad and light-rail tracks. More importantly, in the common case where passenger-carrying tracks lie parallel with roads, mapping the tracks allows Waze to recognize and discard spurious speed data from people Wazing on the train. This prevents corruption of speed data for the adjacent road.

Use the following guidelines when mapping railroad segments:

  • Do NOT enter a name for the railroad segment unless the tracks are historical in nature, a major landmark, or a routine destination for Wazers and your local state/regional wiki guidelines allow for such naming. The Waze app now renders railroad tracks as such so naming serves little purpose any longer. (See more below on Naming railroad segments.)
  • Always select “None” for the city name. This avoids city smudging.
  • Lock the segment at L4.
  • Do not map railroads below ground, as they do not serve either of the two purposes outlined above. This is especially true in urban areas where underground rail lines are common, and their appearance on the map would be confusing to drivers.
  • Set the elevation just as you would a drivable segment. When tracks junction a road on the ground, the Elevation should be set to Ground.
  • In specific circumstances, create junctions between drivable roads and railroads at grade crossings. Otherwise, do not junction grade crossings. The resulting elevation conflicts are acceptable.
  • Set railroad to 2-way directionality
  • When mapping railroad tracks, focus on those near drivable roads.
  • Map rail yards simply, with one railroad segment along either edge of the yard’s tracks.
  • Map industrial spurs only if they cross drivable roads.
  • Do not map every piece of parallel track, such as in sidings or yards, or industrial spurs that do not cross any roads. Your work may otherwise be seen as clutter.
  • Multiple parallel lines at crossings:
    • At most crossings, there should be only one railroad segment mapped and no more than two parallel railroads mapped at any crossing.
    • Parallel lines are to be at least 6 meters apart
    • In general, there is no reason to have multiple lines mapped. When not at a crossing, even four parallel lines can be easily mapped as a single railroad segment in Waze.
  • Keep segment lengths under 10,000 meters – the longer the segment length, the more sluggish the editor is to respond to changes.
  • Do not map railroads using a drivable road type (streets, primary streets, etc.); it could be a hazard to human life if drivers were routed to them.

Runway

Airport runways and private airstrips may be mapped using the Runway road type. The Runway type is for display only and must never connect to drivable road segments. If a drivable road and a runway cross, set the elevation of the road below that of the runway and ensure there is no connection. Draw each runway as a single segment and lock it to prevent lower-ranking editors from attaching a road. Do not form junctions where runways cross each other.

Base Map Editing

More coming soon

Road Naming

More coming soon

Abbreviations

More coming soon

Road Categories

More coming soon

Road Types

More coming soon

Drivable Segments

More coming soon

Highways

More coming soon

Other Streets

More coming soon

Roundabouts

More coming soon

Non-Drivable Segments

More coming soon

Locking Standard

More coming soon

Speed Limits

More coming soon

Update Requests (UR’s)

More coming soon

Map Problems (MP’s)

More coming soon

Projects

For starters, there are some basic projects (besides just getting the rest of the roads mapped) that would really help with the map in Laos.

Routing Continuity

  • All Primary Streets (PS) begin and end at a road classified as PS or higher
  • All Minor Highways (mH) begin and end at a road classified as mH or higher.
  • All Major Highways (MH) begin and end at a road classified as MH or higher.

Find Non-Copyrighted Sources for Resources (if such even exists)

We really need non-copyrighted reliable sources so we can correctly map and label at least major roads, and so we can name rivers, major landmarks and features, cities, towns, and villages.

Falcon Alignment

Beginning with Freeways and working down, all roads should be aligned with the segment centerline.

City / Town / Village Names

This one is going to require some sort of non-copyrighted map and / or local users. Since there are few road names, about the best we will be able to do is get people to the correct village.