Google is launching Street View experience in India in partnership with Tech Mahindra and Genesys. Street View allows users to explore through 360-degree, panoramic, and street-level imagery, which marks the first time in the world that Street View is being brought to life completely by local partners.
Street View will be available on Google Maps with fresh imagery, licensed from local partners covering 150,000 km across Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Nashik, Vadodara, Ahmednagar, and Amritsar. Google, Genesys International, and Tech Mahindra plan to expand this to 50 cities by the end of 2022.
More about Street View
This is the second attempt by Google to launch Street View in India. In 2016, its proposal was rejected by the government due to security concerns. Therefore, this time, Google is partnering with Indian players to overcome security concerns and for data collection. Miriam Karthika Daniel, VP - Google Maps Experiences, explained the partnerships have come after the Indian Government recently brought in a new policy regarding geospatial data and services, aiming to liberalise the access to such information among private players in India. “Over the past 14 years, we have innovated to bring helpful, local, and high-quality experiences to people across the nation. We believe the launch of Street View in India will be instrumental in delivering a more helpful user experience, from virtually visiting locations to getting a better sense of local businesses and establishments. This launch has been made possible only through collaborations with our local partners, Tech Mahindra and Genesys International,” Daniel said.
Sajid Malik, Managing Director of Genesys International Corporation Limited, said, "We were the first Indian firm to perform street imaging of all major cities in India. Our fleet is still swiftly photographing Indian cities, bringing to life our city's amazing tapestry of streets and landmarks, and allowing us to comfortably visit our old neighbourhoods or plan our trips."
To launch Street View, simply open Google Maps, zoom into a road in any of these target cities, and tap the area you want to view. Get to know the local cafes, and cultural hotspots, or check out the local neighbourhood. Street View will help people navigate and explore new corners of the country and the world in a more visual and accurate way, enabling them to fully experience what it’s like to be in these places, right from their phone or computer.
Street View APIs will be available to local developers, enabling them to deliver richer mapping experiences in their services.
Partnership with traffic authorities
Google Maps announced a slate of new partnerships in India with local authorities and organizations to bring more helpful and delightful features customised to the unique and diverse needs of people.
Supporting the efforts of local traffic authorities to promote safe driving, Google Maps will show speed limits data shared by the traffic authorities, starting with Bengaluru.
Google announced its partnership with Bengaluru traffic police as part of its efforts towards delivering models that better optimize traffic light timings, which helps the local traffic authority manage road congestion at key intersections, and will eventually scale across the city. Google will further expand this to Kolkata and Hyderabad in partnership with local traffic authorities.
Google has additionally partnered with traffic authorities and aggregators to help people across Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Agra, helping them make informed travel decisions and avoid congestion zones with information on road closures and incidents.
Other partnerships
In India, Google piloted its Environmental Insights Explorer, a free tool designed to help cities and local governments measure emissions and identify reduction strategies with the help of public transport activity data. Google today shared that Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, and Aurangabad are using transport emissions data from EIE to develop Climate Action Plans. Google publicly launched Aurangabad’s EIE data, making it accessible to research organizations to help propose sustainable solutions to the city.
Google additionally announced its collaboration with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to help people in India make more informed travel decisions by equipping them with authoritative air quality information. People can access this information by tapping the ‘Layers’ button at the top right in their Maps app and selecting the ‘Air Quality’ option.