Gas Station Naming
I would like to recommend adding a note to the Gas Station guidance that the name of the gas station should be something that clearly identifies the station - most typically the brand. In rare cases where the brand of gas is not obvious, it should be the name displayed on the huge price sign at the street (e.g. Manny's Gas & Go). I come across a lot of gas stations all over the country where there are 3 or 4 stations in a very close area, but they're all named either with their street address, or the name of the LLC/Corp that owns the station - which makes it very difficult to tell which gas station you're reporting prices for (or which gas station Waze is trying to get you to once you are there).
Lo and behold, there is a perfect example on the main Gas Stations wiki page: This picture lists "Coast Gasoline" as a search result. However, there is nothing at this station to indicate that you are, in fact, at Coast Gasoline. In Waze, this station has been updated to "Menlo Gas", but that still doesn't work. Since both the gas station report and the gas station search feature don't display the brand, you are left wondering if you are reporting for the correct station. The name of this station should be '76', or at the very least, start with '76'.
A much, much, much better solution would be to have the app updated to display the brand - but even if that was something coming "soon", well... you know where that's going
Edit: I forgot to mention that this is especially important for store gas (Costco, Stop & Shop, etc). I have seen a lot of incorrect place updates where drivers are trying to classify the gas station as a grocery store because the station was named "STOP & SHOP #235"
Edit 2: We should also include some guidance for rest areas. In these cases, the name of the station should clearly indicate which station you are at. Something like "I-95 N Service Area" or "Montvale Service Area". This will make sure, when you're on a divided highway and there are two service areas opposite each other, you are reporting for the correct station. It will also help to handle drivers who are in the vicinity of, but not actually at a service area.
Lo and behold, there is a perfect example on the main Gas Stations wiki page: This picture lists "Coast Gasoline" as a search result. However, there is nothing at this station to indicate that you are, in fact, at Coast Gasoline. In Waze, this station has been updated to "Menlo Gas", but that still doesn't work. Since both the gas station report and the gas station search feature don't display the brand, you are left wondering if you are reporting for the correct station. The name of this station should be '76', or at the very least, start with '76'.
A much, much, much better solution would be to have the app updated to display the brand - but even if that was something coming "soon", well... you know where that's going
Edit: I forgot to mention that this is especially important for store gas (Costco, Stop & Shop, etc). I have seen a lot of incorrect place updates where drivers are trying to classify the gas station as a grocery store because the station was named "STOP & SHOP #235"
Edit 2: We should also include some guidance for rest areas. In these cases, the name of the station should clearly indicate which station you are at. Something like "I-95 N Service Area" or "Montvale Service Area". This will make sure, when you're on a divided highway and there are two service areas opposite each other, you are reporting for the correct station. It will also help to handle drivers who are in the vicinity of, but not actually at a service area.
Re: Gas Station Naming