Peer-reviewed articles 17,970 +


Title: HOW TO FIND THE BEST ROUTE? A COMPARISON OF ROUTE SEARCHING SERVICES
HOW TO FIND THE BEST ROUTE? A COMPARISON OF ROUTE SEARCHING SERVICES

PlumX Article Metrics by Elsevier
Ondrej Kolodziej; Jiri Horak; Pavel Kukuliac
10.5593/sgem2024/2.1/s08.15
10.5593/sgem2024/2.1
1314-2704
978-619-7603-69-9
English
24
2.1
•    Prof. DSc. Oleksandr Trofymchuk, UKRAINE 
•    Prof. Dr. hab. oec. Baiba Rivza, LATVIA
Geoinformatics
Route search engines are essential tools in online applications that address a wide range of user needs. However, the distribution of such applications and simple search engines presents a diverse landscape with different outputs for the same routing tasks. Although they rely on well-established algorithms, the use of different datasets often leads to different results. This paper aims to compare selected route search engines, investigate the differences in their outputs, and provide useful recommendations to users. Prague and Adelaide were chosen as test environments due to their different characteristics. The performance, route characteristics, and recommended routes of major search engines such as Bing Maps, Google Directions, TomTom, Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM), and OpenRouteService were evaluated and compared with Google Directions serving as the baseline for statistical analysis and comparison due to its extensive community use. This research highlights the key role of real-time traffic data in route discovery, particularly in large cities. Notably, the testing was conducted during peak and off-peak hours, revealing significant differences not only in response times for individual services, where Bing Maps and TomTom exhibited the highest disparities in response times, up to 76 %, but also when comparing individual routes during the different hours resulting in up to a 16% decrease in travel times. In contrast, OSRM and OpenRouteService were unable to accommodate real-time traffic data. In addition, statistical analysis revealed interesting patterns of significance correlated with specific locations within the tested cities. While TomTom continues to be recommended for online services due to its reliable data sources and consistent outputs, OSRM emerges as the preferred choice in response times, offering optimal results. By shedding light on these nuances, this paper increases transparency in the understanding of route finders and allows users to make informed decisions, determining whether or not the choice of route finders is important. It highlights how crucial it is to select a preferred service based on effectiveness and comprehensive support for different modes of transport.
[1] Ceci L., Leading mapping apps in the United States in 2021, by downloads, Statista, 2022; Retrieved from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/865413/most-popular-us-mapping-apps-ranked-by-audience/
[2] Dijkstra E. W., A note on two problems in connexion with graphs, Numer Math (Heidelb), Germany, 1959, pp. 269-271; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01386390.
[3] Bellman R., On a routing problem, Q Appl Math, USA, 1958, pp. 87-90; DOI: 10.1090/qam/102435.
[4] Li Q., Zeng Z., Zhang T., Li J., Wu Z., Path-finding through flexible hierarchical road networks: An experiential approach using taxi trajectory data, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs. Geoinf., 2011, pp. 110-119; DOI: 10.1016/j.jag.2010.07.003.
[5] Hart P., Nilsson N., Raphael B., A Formal Basis for the Heuristic Determination of Minimum Cost Paths, IEEE Transactions on Systems Science and Cybernetics, USA, 1968, pp. 100-107; DOI: 10.1109/TSSC.1968.300136.
[6] Chen Y., Gong J., Wu C., Design and Application of Optimal Path Service System on Multi-level Road Network, Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2007, Germany, 2007, pp. 1152-1164; DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-74484-9_101.
[7] Cameron M., Brown A., Intelligent transportation system Mayday becomes a reality, Proceedings of the IEEE 1995 National Aerospace and Electronics Conference. NAECON 1995, USA, 1995, pp. 340-347; DOI: 10.1109/NAECON.1995.521962.
[8] Geotab, Traffic Congestion: Causes and Solutions, Retrieved from: https://www.geotab.com/blog/traffic-congestion/.
[9] Aldwyish A., Xie H., Tanin E., Karunasekera S., Ramamohanarao K., Using a Traffic Simulator for Navigation Service, Proceedings of the 25th ACM SIGSPATIAL Int. Conf. on Adv. in GIS, USA, 2017, pp. 1-4; DOI: 10.1145/3139958.3139998.
[10] Somenahalli S., Sleep C., Primerano F., Wadduwage R., Mayer C., Public Transport Usage in Adelaide, Procedia Soc Behav Sci, Australia, 2013, pp. 855-864; DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.180.
[11] Truong L. T., Somenahalli S., Exploring mobility of older people: a case study of Adelaide, Australia, 2011.
[12] Neis P., Comparison of (OSM) routing-engines, Retrieved from: http://neis-one.org/2011/07/comparison-reloaded/.
[13] Dornhofer M., Bischof W., Krainz E., Comparison of Open Source routing services with OpenStreetMap Data for blind pedestrians, Presented at FOSS4G-Europe 2014, Germany, 2014; Retrieved from: https://europe.foss4g.org/2014/sites/default/files/04-Dornhofer_0.pdf.
[14] Huber S., Rust C., Calculate Travel Time and Distance with Openstreetmap Data Using the Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM), The Stata Journal: Promoting Communications on Statistics and Stata, USA, 2016, pp. 416-423; DOI: 10.1177/1536867X1601600209.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of VSB – Technical University of Ostrava in a grant SP2024/076 - Accessibility, transport conditions and mobility in the urban environment. We also acknowledge the use of data from the presented route providers and the ability to use API in our research.
[5] Hart P., Nilsson N., Raphael B., A Formal Basis for the Heuristic Determination of Minimum Cost Paths, IEEE Transactions on Systems Science and Cybernetics, USA, 1968, pp. 100-107; DOI: 10.1109/TSSC.1968.300136.
[6] Chen Y., Gong J., Wu C., Design and Application of Optimal Path Service System on Multi-level Road Network, Computational Science and Its Applications – ICCSA 2007, Germany, 2007, pp. 1152-1164; DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-74484-9_101.
[7] Cameron M., Brown A., Intelligent transportation system Mayday becomes a reality, Proceedings of the IEEE 1995 National Aerospace and Electronics Conference. NAECON 1995, USA, 1995, pp. 340-347; DOI: 10.1109/NAECON.1995.521962.
[8] Geotab, Traffic Congestion: Causes and Solutions, Retrieved from: https://www.geotab.com/blog/traffic-congestion/.
[9] Aldwyish A., Xie H., Tanin E., Karunasekera S., Ramamohanarao K., Using a Traffic Simulator for Navigation Service, Proceedings of the 25th ACM SIGSPATIAL Int. Conf. on Adv. in GIS, USA, 2017, pp. 1-4; DOI: 10.1145/3139958.3139998.
[10] Somenahalli S., Sleep C., Primerano F., Wadduwage R., Mayer C., Public Transport Usage in Adelaide, Procedia Soc Behav Sci, Australia, 2013, pp. 855-864; DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.180.
[11] Truong L. T., Somenahalli S., Exploring mobility of older people: a case study of Adelaide, Australia, 2011.
[12] Neis P., Comparison of (OSM) routing-engines, Retrieved from: http://neis-one.org/2011/07/comparison-reloaded/.
[13] Dornhofer M., Bischof W., Krainz E., Comparison of Open Source routing services with OpenStreetMap Data for blind pedestrians, Presented at FOSS4G-Europe 2014, Germany, 2014; Retrieved from: https://europe.foss4g.org/2014/sites/default/files/04-Dornhofer_0.pdf.
[14] Huber S., Rust C., Calculate Travel Time and Distance with Openstreetmap Data Using the Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM), The Stata Journal: Promoting Communications on Statistics and Stata, USA, 2016, pp. 416-423; DOI: 10.1177/1536867X1601600209.
conference
https://doi.org/10.5593/sgem2024/2.1/s08.15
Download PDF
Proceedings of 24th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2024
24th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2024, 1 - 7 July, 2024
Proceedings Paper
STEF92 Technology
International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEM
SWS Scholarly Society; Acad Sci Czech Republ; Latvian Acad Sci; Polish Acad Sci; Russian Acad Sci; Serbian Acad Sci and Arts; Natl Acad Sci Ukraine; Natl Acad Sci Armenia; Sci Council Japan; European Acad Sci, Arts and Letters; Acad Fine Arts Zagreb Croatia; Croatian Acad Sci and Arts; Acad Sci Moldova; Montenegrin Acad Sci and Arts; Georgian Acad Sci; Acad Fine Arts and Design Bratislava; Russian Acad Arts; Turkish Acad Sci.
113-122
1 - 7 July, 2024
website
9927
GIS, route, traffic, analysis, navigation

25th SGEM International Conference on Earth & Planetary Sciences


International GeoConference SGEM2025
27 June - 6 July, 2025 / Albena, Bulgaria

Read More		   

SGEM Vienna GREEN "Green Science for Green Life"


Extended Scientific Sessions SGEM Vienna GREEN
3 -6 December, 2025 / Vienna, Austria

Read More
   

A scientific platform for Art-Inspired Scientists!


The Magical World Where Science meets Art
Vienna, Austria

Read More