I am contributing on behalf of SingleInterface, a trusted digital partner working with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). As part of our collaboration, we manage and maintain IOCL’s Google Business Profile (GBP) map listings, which gives us access to accurate and verified outlet information.
I would like to add multiple store locations to OpenStreetMap using these reliable sources to improve the accuracy, coverage, and completeness of location data. Each entry will include factual and verifiable details such as the store name, address, coordinates, postal code, phone number, and official website links. This will make it easier for users to find reliable information about IOCL outlets in one place, while also enhancing Wikipedia articles, mapping tools, and knowledge graph applications that rely on OpenStreetMap.
These contributions will strengthen linked open data integration, connect OpenStreetMap with external datasets, and provide structured information that can support research, urban planning, and public services. To build trust within the community, I am happy to start with a small set of sample entries for review before proceeding with the full set of locations.
Of course, any help is welcome! It’s a great idea to start with a few additions first in order to get them verified by the community before going on with the rest of the locations. I would happily review your first few additions.
You might also want to take a look at a project called the Name Suggestion Index (also see the website). When you type a brand name while editing on OSM, a preset comes up with the logo and the predefined tags. That’s because it was added to the NSI. I’m a maintainer on the project so don’t hesitate if you need any help. You might want to consider adding IndianOil gas stations to the NSI (if they have more than 30 locations in India, which they probably do).
Thank you for starting a discussion here. The data sets you have uploaded a few months ago on the account SingleInterface - NOVA | OpenStreetMap, and which I reverted, had mainly two issues. One, they were using the addr:street tag to store a complete address like
Ground Floor, Manamadurai - Tanjavur Road, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, 613301
First things first, I’m personally glad to see that IOCL (or at least you folks on behalf of them) finally recognise OSM, and are taking an initiative to bring the outlet data into public domain. I’d be more than happy to guide you folks through the process, including QA, to ensure the outlets are mapped appropriately.
Like others have already pointed out, IOCL has an entry in the Name Suggestion Index, and if it’s an activity that involves a group of people adding these, following the Organised Editing Guidelines & Import Guidelines are a must. Again, I’d be more than happy to help you folks with this process, for there are some extras/nice-to-have that I usually do when mapping fuel stations in general, as well as things which would be different when it comes to tagging “COCO” and/or “Swagat” stations, as compared to the regular outlets.
Feel free to reach out to me by messaging here, or sending an email to nlbrt@disroot.org
I work on All The Places, we collect first party data from chains such as Indian Oil. This data is normalised and made available to map makers. We’d love to get your data.
I got some Indian Oil data last year, it was 36.7k locations! I haven’t collected it again because of the size, but I’d love to work with you and make sure we can collect accurate data regularly.
Regarding the tag, should I add the QID you mentioned (since it was created by someone else, I am concerned it might affect or lead to the removal of my post), or would it be more appropriate to create a new QID and use that instead?
I have already discussed the matter of adding this location to Wikidata with the Wikidata community about a month ago, and they advised me to post it on OpenStreetMap first before proceeding on Wikidata.
Use a single QID for the entire brand and apply it to the store locations. The QID for Indian Oil as a whole already exists and I posted it above.
Is there any reason that this particular petrol station is particularly notable such that it needs its own separate Wikidata entry? Or is it just “there is an Indian Oil petrol station at this location”.
Plain wikidata means the QID is about the specific map feature.
operator:wikidata is applied instead to supporting infrastructure that isn’t a POI, like a petrol pipeline or pump station or the petrol station parking lot.
Does this mean that the data is being added from a source given by the company for this role or does it mean that the data is being added from the list of locations that are on the Business Profile page ?
Looks good to me, except the fact that you included both phone and contact:phone with the same number. Both tags have the same meaning, but phone has over 3 309 148 uses while contact:phone has 971 437. I’d suggest you only keep the former as it has over 3 times more uses.
(not an issue here because they’re the same value, but as an aside)
There have been arguments before about whether phone is better (“more usage”) or contact:phone (“more consistent with other contact: tag”) but I don’t think I’ve heard a justification for having them set to different values before. Is that something that is done anywhere?
I’m not saying it’s wrong; just not something I’ve seen before…
I’d say if there’s a physical phone at the POI but you’re not supposed to call it to contact someone. Like, many elevator emergency phones have their own phone number that you can direct dial or contact through a numbered extension. But that’s not who to call to contact someone about the elevator.
