PRESS RELEASE: MyRoute-app reduces Google Maps services
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Can we assume that cost savings resulting in the discontinued use of Google maps will be passed on to your GOLD level subscribers. This is a significant change to the product that we had all subscribed to.
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Dear Community,
On behalf of the MyRoute-app team, I would like to inform you that after ceasing negotiations with Google, we have decided to reduce the Google Maps service. I will explain the time frame and total impact of this, as well as our availability for questions.
Let's start at the beginning. Just like any other company, MyRoute-app has contracts with various partners who provide all kinds of services. Take a look in the application and you can probably already list some of them. Generally, we do not draw your, our community's, attention to this as contract negotiations, licence fees and life-cycle management is generally of little interest to you, the users. What is relevant in this case is that MyRoute-app concludes multi-year contracts that are renegotiated with suppliers at the end of the period, often in pleasant collaboration and ongoing partnerships.
These negotiations go beyond market negotiations. It's about more than the stress field between a low price for us and a high price for the supplier. This is a mutually fruitful collaboration that stimulates sustainable innovation. Our suppliers benefit if MyRoute-app grows: then our demand for their services also grows. We benefit from our suppliers flourishing: they offer better and more attractive services, so we do not have to develop this ourselves as a custom-made service. With MyRoute-app, quality comes first, which can sometimes cost a little more when the quality justifies it.
In February 2020, negotiations started for a follow-up contract with Google. To our surprise, the prices offered here were ten times higher than the previous prices. It should be noted that those prices had already been unilaterally increased by Google as early as 2018. The 2018 price hike was not only difficult for MyRoute-app as many smaller companies also run their business on Google's infrastructure. The internet is full of stories about small entrepreneurs who, thanks to this price hike, saw their costs rise from, for example, €10,000 to €200,000 per period. Fortunately, MyRoute-app was able to deal with this in an agile manner and at the time expanded Google Maps as a standard map service with an emergency measure and switched to the free open source alternative OpenStreetMap. In the end, many companies died in a growing economy due to nothing else but the fact that Google shot up its prices back then.
So, we refused to accept the new Google prices. We tried to achieve new prices with Google that were workable but to no avail at the bottom of the line. Google's attitude towards our proposals was rigid; counter proposals and questions for clarity were met with radio silence. We have done our best to think from the perspective of our supplier, as we often do. We understand that large companies like to work with scales and standard processes. We understand that justified price rises are possible. We understand that a company wants to grow. However, this does not detract from the fact that Google simply was not open to negotiating with MyRoute-app. That can easily happen, after all, we were already customers. We had already become customers since 2014 under a reasonable graduated scale, with a supplier who worked together with us and increased the price indexed as befits a growing economy. However, recent price hikes are unworkable and unjustified.
Google's services will not be 20 times better in 2018. It has not improved tenfold in 2020 and as far as we can tell, life has not become 30 times more expensive and wages have not increased thirty-fold. In the short term, MyRoute-app will therefore bid farewell to various Google services. This will disable the maps functionality for GOLD users. Furthermore, routes once created via Google Maps will all be converted to the Here map. The Google Maps map remains available as an additional map layer. We believe that this reduction of Google functionality will not have a major impact on the overall offering. For proper exportation to the known GPS devices, we advise that you use Here (Garmin) and TomTom maps, in any case the map material is the same. The map with all Google information will remain available, we are only forced to distance ourselves from the Google route calculation.
Finally, I would like to end with the message that things can be done differently. As I mentioned earlier, MyRoute-app has contracts with several partners. As such, we have recently renewed the life cycle of these contracts with all critical partners in a sustainable and collaborative way. We are proud of the partners with whom we have been able to develop MyRoute-app to the maturity level we now stand at and once again express our confidence in building a bright future for all travellers.
Thanks for reading.
On behalf of the MyRoute-app team,
Your Community Manager,
Timo Martosatiman
@Timo-Martosatiman-MRA
Without many comments:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52009XC0224(01)
https://ec.europa.eu/competition/contacts/electronic_documents_en.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/20/tech/google-eu-antitrust/index.html
In short, to act, EC needs info, and I think you fall within the law of abuse of power.
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Can we assume that cost savings resulting in the discontinued use of Google maps will be passed on to your GOLD level subscribers. This is a significant change to the product that we had all subscribed to.
@Martin-Vandewouw I sure hope not. If any savings I hope it will be used to improve MRA. Bringing in practice al the improvement requests that users have posted on this forum will make us forget google very fast.
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I too loved the Google implementation in MRA, the ease of planning a motorcycle route, checking out the the hotels and fuel stops via streetview etc, etc.
I have just finished a 10 day tour project for next year and as others have said it is slightly uncomfortable using the HERE mapping. I never used Open Street Map just the Google Gold option.
That said, Timo made it very clear that Google were not being fair, and like some other mega-corporations that won't be named but we all know, they try to squeeze you until the 'pips squeak'.So, MRA should continue to progress and the small niggley changes now will soon be forgotten. I too tried Basecamp, what a joy to behold it was when MRA appeared, let's never forget that!
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I too loved the Google implementation in MRA, the ease of planning a motorcycle route, checking out the the hotels and fuel stops via streetview etc, etc.
I have just finished a 10 day tour project for next year and as others have said it is slightly uncomfortable using the HERE mapping. I never used Open Street Map just the Google Gold option.
That said, Timo made it very clear that Google were not being fair, and like some other mega-corporations that won't be named but we all know, they try to squeeze you until the 'pips squeak'.So, MRA should continue to progress and the small niggley changes now will soon be forgotten. I too tried Basecamp, what a joy to behold it was when MRA appeared, let's never forget that!
The loss of Google Maps is unfortunate indeed. Their satellite imaging in “street view” is superior to other products, and as a motorcyclist I like knowing the condition of road surfaces when route planning.
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Hi i am a motorcycle tour guide and have used your app to travel all over Europe with my guests and friends for several years now. I really like it and get on well with the app. What worries me is can we still get the zoom in and see the road, entrance building etc! If not this is going to cause a lot of problems. I look forward to your response.
Thank you
Terry -
I'm new to MyRoute-app, yesterday I created a map using Google Maps as an overlay, today I wanted to modify the map, I couldn't find GM overlay!! Obviously thought it was me not knowing the software.
Might be worth putting this as a notice on your Home Page for all to see.
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Hi i am a motorcycle tour guide and have used your app to travel all over Europe with my guests and friends for several years now. I really like it and get on well with the app. What worries me is can we still get the zoom in and see the road, entrance building etc! If not this is going to cause a lot of problems. I look forward to your response.
Thank you
Terry@Terry-Green Google amready disapeared from the selction list and we can still see street view for the moment
-
Dear Community,
On behalf of the MyRoute-app team, I would like to inform you that after ceasing negotiations with Google, we have decided to reduce the Google Maps service. I will explain the time frame and total impact of this, as well as our availability for questions.
Let's start at the beginning. Just like any other company, MyRoute-app has contracts with various partners who provide all kinds of services. Take a look in the application and you can probably already list some of them. Generally, we do not draw your, our community's, attention to this as contract negotiations, licence fees and life-cycle management is generally of little interest to you, the users. What is relevant in this case is that MyRoute-app concludes multi-year contracts that are renegotiated with suppliers at the end of the period, often in pleasant collaboration and ongoing partnerships.
These negotiations go beyond market negotiations. It's about more than the stress field between a low price for us and a high price for the supplier. This is a mutually fruitful collaboration that stimulates sustainable innovation. Our suppliers benefit if MyRoute-app grows: then our demand for their services also grows. We benefit from our suppliers flourishing: they offer better and more attractive services, so we do not have to develop this ourselves as a custom-made service. With MyRoute-app, quality comes first, which can sometimes cost a little more when the quality justifies it.
In February 2020, negotiations started for a follow-up contract with Google. To our surprise, the prices offered here were ten times higher than the previous prices. It should be noted that those prices had already been unilaterally increased by Google as early as 2018. The 2018 price hike was not only difficult for MyRoute-app as many smaller companies also run their business on Google's infrastructure. The internet is full of stories about small entrepreneurs who, thanks to this price hike, saw their costs rise from, for example, €10,000 to €200,000 per period. Fortunately, MyRoute-app was able to deal with this in an agile manner and at the time expanded Google Maps as a standard map service with an emergency measure and switched to the free open source alternative OpenStreetMap. In the end, many companies died in a growing economy due to nothing else but the fact that Google shot up its prices back then.
So, we refused to accept the new Google prices. We tried to achieve new prices with Google that were workable but to no avail at the bottom of the line. Google's attitude towards our proposals was rigid; counter proposals and questions for clarity were met with radio silence. We have done our best to think from the perspective of our supplier, as we often do. We understand that large companies like to work with scales and standard processes. We understand that justified price rises are possible. We understand that a company wants to grow. However, this does not detract from the fact that Google simply was not open to negotiating with MyRoute-app. That can easily happen, after all, we were already customers. We had already become customers since 2014 under a reasonable graduated scale, with a supplier who worked together with us and increased the price indexed as befits a growing economy. However, recent price hikes are unworkable and unjustified.
Google's services will not be 20 times better in 2018. It has not improved tenfold in 2020 and as far as we can tell, life has not become 30 times more expensive and wages have not increased thirty-fold. In the short term, MyRoute-app will therefore bid farewell to various Google services. This will disable the maps functionality for GOLD users. Furthermore, routes once created via Google Maps will all be converted to the Here map. The Google Maps map remains available as an additional map layer. We believe that this reduction of Google functionality will not have a major impact on the overall offering. For proper exportation to the known GPS devices, we advise that you use Here (Garmin) and TomTom maps, in any case the map material is the same. The map with all Google information will remain available, we are only forced to distance ourselves from the Google route calculation.
Finally, I would like to end with the message that things can be done differently. As I mentioned earlier, MyRoute-app has contracts with several partners. As such, we have recently renewed the life cycle of these contracts with all critical partners in a sustainable and collaborative way. We are proud of the partners with whom we have been able to develop MyRoute-app to the maturity level we now stand at and once again express our confidence in building a bright future for all travellers.
Thanks for reading.
On behalf of the MyRoute-app team,
Your Community Manager,
Timo Martosatiman
@Timo-Martosatiman-MRA
Timo
Don’t worry about it. You user base should understand the choice is simple; demand Google maps and you will have to pay increased subscription fees. Live without it and MyRoute-app survives. Street view isn’t a map service anyway it’s a panoramic.
Google can go and **** themselves.
Keep up the good work and don’t waste anymore unfruitful time on pointless negotiations. -
Hello, do you mean "street view" will desappear from MyrouteApp ?
I use it a lot as a biker to see the road, the miss of this fonction is a desaster for me.
I hope this fonction will not leave the app. -
Is it perhaps the fact that from within the App when being used on a phone for navigation Google is not getting location information back from the user? I would assume with an Android phone Google receives the location information no matter but perhaps with an IPhone the location information is not available to Google?
Let's face it... a lot of Google's business is providing location info to other businesses so they know if prospective customers are in the area so they can target them with ads, etc. Location information also allows Google to know your travel speed, etc. to provide traffic info real time. -
I certainly understand refusing to allow the google giant to strangle you. However, I too used the google map almost exclusively. I did so for several reasons. Like others have mentioned I used the satellite view and street view extensively. I also really loved the "optimize" feature in the tool kit for the google maps. I do not see an option to view the google map layer at all, so I'm curious how that is going to work.
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Are we going to have a Google Satellite map layer? I really need this to see if back roads are dirt or paved.
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When you are plotting an MRA route you can still use Google Maps in a separate tab in your browser, for street view, satellite view, finding hotels/restaurants, etc. Of course it is not as convenient, but it's doable.
Maybe we can get a new button within MRA to open Google Maps in a new tab, at the lat/lon of the current MRA view.
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When you are plotting an MRA route you can still use Google Maps in a separate tab in your browser, for street view, satellite view, finding hotels/restaurants, etc. Of course it is not as convenient, but it's doable.
Maybe we can get a new button within MRA to open Google Maps in a new tab, at the lat/lon of the current MRA view.
@TJ-Higgins the satelite layer from Here is still there, it may (zoomed out) not look so nice but once you zoom in it is ok
It is not difficult, it is easy, it's a hobby
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While I can understand your position in terms of the massive price increase by Google, I like probably many others have decided to pay for the My Route app Gold solely because of the Functionality you offer through Google. I think you should offer the possibility of an early cancellation since you are taking away a key feature of your service.
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One thing not mentioned yet is the time discrepancies between OSM, GM, HERE and TomTom. When switching a route amongst these maps, waypoints and mileage are effectively unchanged, but the duration can vary significantly, sometimes by hours. I know my daily riding limits, and plan routes by both distance and duration. In my experience GM seemed to have the most accurate timing, so I used that for planning trips and created HERE copies for my Garmin GPS.
So I will greatly miss not having GM route calculation capabilities, but I understand and wholeheartedly support your decision not to renew this feature.
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Will new maps be implemented? For example, https://en.mapy.cz
There is also a tourist map, hotels, camps, restaurants, gas station, museum, cable car, post office, church, ....
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if you now create a route in MRA using the tom tom map and save it as a 1.1gpx file to your hard drive, then delete the route from your route library by accident, you should be able to bring it back by uploading it using the gpx file you had saved on your hard drive including all the poi and waypoints, but all it says is " this route has no waypoints" and if you upload it as a route/track you get loads of waypoints with no street names.
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Personally the only thing I used Google Maps for was Street View.
Went to Cornwall last year and whilst plotting the route to drive the whole way round the Cornish Coast there are a lot of unpaved roads that "stab out" to the most beautifull little scenic coves.
You would miss out on these if you just stayed on the main coastal road.
Street View is perfect for jumping in and actually seeing whether the 2-10 mile "stab out" is worth your time.
Having this functionality all in MRA is really usefull so if Street View disappears then it would be a real shame but in no way a deal breaker, as I would just jump in to Google Maps in another tab to achieve the same goal.The "big boys" are getting greedy and I whole heartedly agree with MRA's decision to show them the middle finger.
Steve.
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