Google Maps traffic info discontinued?

It was only the other day we announced that Google had traffic information for some countries in Europe, and now it seems that was a short-lived feature. According to a Google Employee on the official Google Maps support forum, Google has decided to shut down its traffic info service for now – at least until it figures a way how to release an improved version of it.

Here’s the statement from the Google Employee:

Hey all,

barryhunter is right, we have decided that our information systems behind this feature were not as good as they could be. Therefore, we have taken this offline and are currently working to come up with a better, more accurate solution. We are always working to bring you the best Google Maps experience with updates like these!

Thanks,

Daniel

While Google mentioned that its traffic info was no more, they didn’t explain what they meant by trying to come up with a “better, more accurate solution.” Judging by comments in the forum, it looks like people are happy with the service so far, and are complaining about its loss. This sudden closing of the service makes you wonder how accurate the information from the service has been all this while. Oh well, it looks like we won’t have traffic info from Google for awhile. What do you think the reason for the shut down could be? Will you miss it?

George Wong
Categories: Web
Tags: Google, Google Maps, service