I am currently studying in college and part of my college course dictates that I most do a work experience placement. I ended being placed in a charity shop. The first couple of days went well. Its a small little shop in a shopping center so there wasn’t much for me to do. So they decided that today I’ll do some work in the warehouse where they receive their goods.
They gave me the address but they forgot the bus so I ended taking a bus that stopped at a 20 minutes walk away. I got off the bus and tried to find this warehouse with the help of Google maps. It kept constantly telling me to go in different directions for the next 40 minutes. So I was walking around in 0 degrees Celsius weather is just a jumper. I eventually managed to find the correct area but it was in a big industrial park. I went searching around for 40 minutes and it turns out all they had to identify them is like a tiny wooden sign. So I finally got to my placement nearly 2 hours late. They were quite forgiving about it though since apparently that has happened to a few other before.
I found out that the best way to force Google Maps to update is to make the correct edit in Open Street Maps. Google seems to source its local information from there.
Just an anecdotal example: I live at the end of a cul-de-sac, and I’ve seen loads of cars drive up to my house, and then gingerly do a 15-point turn (the road is very narrow), and drive back. I checked Google Maps and found that it lists my street as open. I’ve filled reports with Google several times, and nothing happened. Then, I updated OSM to indicate that at the end of my street there’s just a pedestrian footpath to the next street. Within two weeks, the number of cars turning around decreased drastically. I checked Google Maps, and found that they fixed their map. A few years later, there’s still the odd car making the mistake, but the only map service I could identify that still didn’t update was Apple Maps.
Since then, I’ve done several edits in OSM (I live in a young estate, with loads of construction still going on, so maps are not very reliable), and Google always picked up these edits.
I corrected gMaps about 20-30 times over the last few years since we moved into a new building (first renters – whee!). I actually had work peers submitting corrections too.
Finally, out of the blue, it was fixed, and now I check weekly for it to revert. Now, fucking UPS losers who can’t read huge numbers on the side of the road can find me again … and drop my package out on the street in front of the building for the free-rangers to steal. You’re gonna love how my new presbyopic, astigmatic, myopic eyeglasses feel on your face, you dick.
I’ll try a correction to OSM next time. That’s GENIUS.