How to report/correct inefficient routing

christophjones · 2024-08-09T22:38:45.463Z

Hello all, I’m working through a proof of concept using OSM. In most cases it’s great but I’ve encountered some scenarios where the route is very inefficient - adding an extra hour to a 2 hour drive. Is there a process to report and have it corrected? Is there a way to change to parameters of my request to that would provide a shorter route?

Here’s an example route:

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

Compare distance and drive time with the same route here:

Carnildo · 2024-08-10T06:35:30.299Z

The usual culprit for this sort of thing is a lack of speed-limit information. The default routing profiles make guesses about missing speed limits that really only apply to urban European roads.

PHerison · 2024-08-10T09:16:01.218Z

You can try alternative routing engines:

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

whb · 2024-08-10T10:47:20.236Z

christophjones:

adding an extra hour to a 2 hour drive

Google Maps says 2 h 17 min vs. 2 h 10 min. That would be 7 minutes.
Some routers prefer long-distance roads.

christophjones · 2024-08-10T11:55:35.547Z

Strange. I get 3 hours 22 minutes when using “OpenStreetMap”

Are there other suggested engines for Central US?

whb · 2024-08-10T12:25:41.502Z

The times for the OSRM router are 3:25 vs. 3:22 (3 minutes difference). This is why it takes the northern route here. I think comparing the times between different routers is not very meaningful as they make different assumptions.
The two route alternatives are roughly equivalent, Google Maps sees a time difference of 7 minutes, OSRM 3 minutes. Which of the two routes is faster in reality will probably depend on the traffic and driving style.
When it comes to energy consumption, the shorter (distance) route is probably preferable.