Passengers in Kochi and Chennai will be able to book Metro tickets through Google Maps from later this week, the tech giant announced on July 25. The move is part of Google’s efforts to provide a digitised public transport experience to consumers in the country, the company said.
The feature will be powered by the mobility app Namma Yatri, which will handle the entire booking and payment process.
Google announced the feature in December 2023 when it tied up with the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Namma Yatri.
The American company is also an investor in Moving Tech Innovations Ltd, the firm behind Namma Yatri, having participated in its maiden funding round of $11 million earlier this month.
Consumers will see the booking option for the metro leg of the trip when they search for public transport directions in these two cities, Google said.
One can tap on the option, following which users will be guided through the booking and payment process and receive the QR code ticket, thereby avoiding the need to wait in queues at the station.
Namma Yatri which will handle the entire booking and payment process on Google Maps
Metro agencies in Chennai and Kochi are serving as seller apps on the ONDC network, while Namma Yatri is a buyer app, the company said.
Google said it plans to expand the feature to more cities and additional modes of public transport such as buses in collaboration with Namma Yatri and ONDC in the future.
While Namma Yatri also offers auto and cab-booking services, Google is focused only on public transport modes, said Anal Ghosh, the product lead for Google Maps experiences in India, in a media briefing.
"Namma Yatri has been a big success story on ONDC, specifically on ride booking, but they also share our vision of expanding and catering to the diverse mobility and transportation needs of users across the country. So, we're currently working with them focusing on public transport as a user journey, and how we can meet user needs together" he said.
Flyover callouts
Google Maps also introduced a series of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered features in the country. This includes helping four-wheeler drivers reduce the use of narrow roads while driving and calling out flyovers along their routes.
The narrow road callouts will be available on Android devices in eight cities of Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati this week.
Flyover callouts will be available in 40 cities across India for both four-wheeler and two-wheeler navigation on Android apps and Android Auto. Both these features will be introduced on iOS soon.
Google said it will also provide information about electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on both Google Maps and Google Search in India.
The company has partnered with local EV charging providers such as Ather, ElectricPe, Kazam, and Statiq to provide authoritative information for over 8,000 charging stations.
India is the first country where it will offer EV charging stations for two-wheelers on Google Maps. It plans to eventually roll out this feature to other markets, the company said.
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