Hi Everyone,

We’re excited to share this blog post from the Google Keyword blog with you featuring long-awaited functionalities launching on Waze and Google Maps. Please help us share the news by posting it on your social media and local community social channels.

We also want to use this opportunity to thank you for participating in the ideation stages and initial mapping stages for several of the Waze features. These features will help Waze make our roads safer and easier to navigate for all drivers. We truly couldn’t do it without you! 

New Waze and Google Maps features include:

• New camera types have been among the top suggested features in the WME suggestion box, and we're proud to finally bring these to all Waze drivers. You’ve already brought so much hyperlocal knowledge on new types needed and are helping migrate existing camera types to the new infrastructure. Stay tuned over the coming weeks as we move into community mapping and testing phases.

 

• New event landing experience: You’ve been telling us for quite some time to improve how we communicate the Traffic Events information to users. We tested the new event landing page with the help of many local communities over the past two months for large events such as Pride parades, Tour de France and the Olympic Games. Your mapping, feedback and input have been invaluable. Stay tuned for more updates on traffic events, also coming to WME.

 

• Lock screen navigation:  This was an important request from many communities in Waze, especially our Brazil community. Thank you for helping us understand the need for this more deeply and advising us on the way through development for this one.

 

• Google Maps will surface reports from our drivers with attribution to Waze directly in the app: Today’s announcement features types like police alerts and more data types will be shared and attributed to Waze in the future. We’re excited for more drivers to see reports coming from Waze. This wouldn’t be possible without our partnership with Geo, where we aim to bring the most comprehensive map data to all drivers through bi-directional data exchange (like KoiFish) and ensure our Map Editors have the best tools available (such as ‘The button’ - Request updated satellite imagery).
  • We are also exploring how we can ensure contributors (drivers and partners) see how many users their alerts impacted both on and off the Waze app to encourage continued contribution. 

Stay tuned for more exciting features launching over the coming months!

On behalf of the Waze Communities Team,
Danit