Bozwell wrote:There are a lot of mapping apps out there for hiking, cycling etc. Best to use a tool that is intended for that use rather than change a driving aid such as Waze.

OMG, someone finally got it! Yea!!!!

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The facts are:

* there currently is no mode in Waze for walking, biking, etc.
* if you use Waze for these modes of transportation it will pollute the traffic data for those of use that are using Waze for its intended purpose

If you are here reading this you now understand. Yes, other people who don't know may try to use Waze for walking (it isn't going to work well anyway since Waze is not aware of walking paths, won't route you against a one way street, eta not correct, etc).

If Waze adds other modes then go for it.

I agree that if people forget to turn off Waze when they get out of their cars and start walking, they are not going to remember to switch it to "walking" mode. But there are ways to determine automatically that a person is walking and not driving. Some signs can be detected when post-processing the GPS track, to protect road data; others (e.g., monitoring an internal accelerometer) might be useful in real-time to prevent traffic reports.

Bozwell wrote:Yes it's easy to automatically determine that someone isn't walking at 50mph, but it's not impossible for a car to crawl in traffic at 2mph. So how could this be determined automatically?

During GPS track post-processing, if part of a GPS track:

• goes "off the map" rather than following an existing road
• is characterized by short segments and abrupt angles, rather than long straight stretches
• totals less than a certain distance
• never exceeds a certain speed
• returns to its starting point before resuming driving-like motion

then it probably represents walking rather than driving. Adjust these heuristics and you probably could identify bicycling as well.

IMO it's unnecessary work for Waze to develop this kind of functionality when they will never do it to the same standard as a dedicated walking app of which there are many, and it would risk damaging the main function of Waze.

The point is not to make Waze a walking app; it is to protect the road statistics from the "pollution" resulting from leaving the app running while walking, without depending on Wazers to remember to turn off the app or set an appropriate mode.

harling wrote: The point is not to make Waze a walking app; it is to protect the road statistics from the "pollution"

This exactly. Waze is for driving, don't change the focus. But we can't stop people from walking/biking/flying/or boating with Waze. Yes I've even seen people use Waze on boats. We need a "not driving" mode for those people.

AlanOfTheBerg wrote:Waze has the potential to be used for other modes of transportation but as it stands, if used for biking or walking, it will only mess of the traffic data for drivers. Driving is where Waze should be used and no other mode of transportation.

1,000,000% disagree:
Obviously, if one was in “Walk ,” “Run”, or “Bike” Mode the system would be smart enough as to NOT affect traffic data. Waze should be use for ALL modes.

If you look around you will see many 2-6 miles/hr going on in many back neighborhoods. Can you guess what everyone is doing – that’s correct “Walking” with Waze turned on.

Sorry, but I still disagree. My point is that you can’t expect people not to walk, bike, and run with Waze. So that being said (and agreed to that it happens a lot), create a feature that will take that into consideration (the new mode would not pollute the rest of the “Car mode” data). A mode for each solves everything.

You medaled. Is that you?

http://www.olympic.org/athletics

Just think of the number of points for that.

Gettingthere – agreed these are the facts for why we need the other modes (so not to pollute the database) and unfortunately there is no way this/people can be controlled. Maybe an “Ignore Mode” to start until something more elaborate can be developed.

Having an all inclusive nav app is a good thing, for no one wants the hassle of learning and keeping multiple nav apps current. If not, others will. It would be a strategic move for Waze and gain market share.