waze users - not so good any more?

[hairyben]

impressions? it's stuck me into several unnecessary jams and congestions lately, the sort of stuff its been fairly good at avoiding - are owners google nobbling it now they have what they need I wonder?

[mattfuey]

I've noticed it has stopped showing some traffic jams until you are in one and report it.

As soon as you report it the entire jam shows up on the map.

Definitely not as reliable as it was a couple of years ago I'd say.

[dannyDC2]

I started using Waze again a few weeks ago after 3 years or so off. It lead me down a dark path one day and I vowed never to use it again!

I have to say, in the few trips that I've used it for recently it's been rather good. Obviously I can't comment on whether or not its gone downhill recently, but it certainly seems a lot better than it was before!

[mgv8]

Still, find it good, but I an not traveling at peak. Two people that work for me use it every day and loving it. There are two problems, you are the first user to hit the jam, or it's still faster than going around.

[Accelebrate]

I do wonder how often it turns you into a guinea pig, e.g. puts you into a known jam to see how long it lasts, or sends you on a crazy new route just to see how long it takes.

I also have a hunch that my local camera van operators have started removing reports as well.

[tigamilla]

I find it's excellent for knowing where speed cameras are etc., but avoid using it in London as it has on many occasions taken me down roads with those horrible horrible bollards whose sole purpose is to dent your car / scruff your rims - all to save 1 minute.

[tenmantaylor]

It used to be amazing in London for finding quieter routes (hence quicker journeys) but now I'm out in the sticks it hardly ever seems to get updated by users. Nearly missed a train today (to London ironically) as Waze didn't tell me about a road closure.

Now this is the point where you say "well some one just hasn't reported it". Well that isn't true. I stumbled upon a closure a couple weeks ago that wasn't on Waze so I (safely) took the time to notify my fellow wazers of the closure.

Next day Waze tried to take me the same way and the closure was still there but not according to Waze.

[CarAbuser]

I'm having the same issues.

It quite often sends me into jams that it must already know about but they just don't show (These are jams that happen on the same road every day at certain times and I know there are better routers available). Same with road closures. Only started having issues in the last few months.

It also keeps sending me off at junctions to only then try and rejoin later in an attempt to cut some traffic but the diversion ends up taking longer than just sitting in the traffic.

Also the amount of ads showing is creeping up. They get in the way of the navigation now. Will try another app this week.

[Yipper]

Use 2 phones or 2 apps at same time.

Directions = Google Maps.
Jams + Cams = Waze.

[85Carrera]

CarAbuser said:

Will try another app this week.

Try Navmii - far better than Waze (which I tried to see what all the hype was about and found to be st)

[85Carrera]

Yipper said:

Use 2 phones or 2 apps at same time.

Directions = Google Maps.
Jams + Cams = Waze.

Have you got some form of Tourette's causing you to post rubbish on every single thread?

[Zod]

Waze pissed me off big time last weekend. I was driving up to Yorkshire (Shipley) on Friday, setting off at lunchtime and back to London on Sunday. On Friday, it started me on the M1 and then took me off at J13 onto the A421, taking me onto the A1 at Black Cat. The A1 was congested most of the way and the drive took five and a half hours. On the way back, it took me along the M62, past the M1 onto the A1. I charitably thought that it must know that the A1 was clearer than the M1. We joined the A1 at Ferrybridge in stationary traffic. The traffic was so slow that when we finally got within a few miles of the M18, I got my other half to check Waze on her phone and it told her to take the M18 and M1, while mine was still telling me to stick to the A1! We took the M18/M1 and the journey took five and a half hours again.

[AlexRS2782]

dannyDC2 said:

I started using Waze again a few weeks ago after 3 years or so off. It lead me down a dark path one day and I vowed never to use it again!

There's a similar issue where one of my friends live. It's a close, so no through access, but there is also a walkway / access route onto a large area of open space containing a kids play area which is also overlooked by a plot containing 6 houses. You can always tell the people that use Waze, or similar, as they get directed into the close to get access to those 6 houses, presumably because it maps / directs them via the access route, whereas normal sat nav directs you past the road and directs you to turn right at the next mini roundabout to get to the houses.

[motco]

Waze, and the others that rely on users, are only as good as the numbers of users in the area. On quiet days I use my built in ten year old satnav, but when heavy traffic is likely or on a long motorway trip with known potential hotspots (M5 near Bristol for example) I'll use Waze.

[alorotom]

I’d agree it’s gone downhill from what it was 3-4yrs ago but it’s still the quite a way ahead of any of the other competitor apps in the UK imho

I’ve experienced a few jams lately that haven’t been shown till I was stationary then it reloaded and low and behold a massive jam shows up but too late to do anything about it.

[Saleen836]

85Carrera said:

CarAbuser said:

Will try another app this week.

Try Navmii - far better than Waze (which I tried to see what all the hype was about and found to be st)

I have found the 'satnav' app also works well, I download my route in wfi as it caches the routes so no need for data usage

[Lazadude]

tenmantaylor said:

It used to be amazing in London for finding quieter routes (hence quicker journeys) but now I'm out in the sticks it hardly ever seems to get updated by users. Nearly missed a train today (to London ironically) as Waze didn't tell me about a road closure.

Now this is the point where you say "well some one just hasn't reported it". Well that isn't true. I stumbled upon a closure a couple weeks ago that wasn't on Waze so I (safely) took the time to notify my fellow wazers of the closure.

Next day Waze tried to take me the same way and the closure was still there but not according to Waze.

Waze (and Google as thats what it basically is) uses "weighting" to reports. So the higher your level within Waze the more influence you have on having a report actually accepted.

Also, it won't close a road from a single users report unless they are the top teir (5% users) IIRC, they need other uses to corroborate / report the same thing.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Accelebrate said:

I do wonder how often it turns you into a guinea pig, e.g. puts you into a known jam to see how long it lasts, or sends you on a crazy new route just to see how long it takes.

I thought this on Tuesday night in SE london when it sent me miles out of my way into some very heavy traffic adding 30 minutes to my travel time

turns out there was a major incident and two colleagues (none waze users) who go a similar route to me spent nearly 5 hours getting home

YAY FOR WAZE

[motco]

Dave Hedgehog said:

Accelebrate said:

I do wonder how often it turns you into a guinea pig, e.g. puts you into a known jam to see how long it lasts, or sends you on a crazy new route just to see how long it takes.

I thought this on Tuesday night in SE london when it sent me miles out of my way into some very heavy traffic adding 30 minutes to my travel time

turns out there was a major incident and two colleagues (none waze users) who go a similar route to me spent nearly 5 hours getting home

YAY FOR WAZE

The trouble is you cannot run a parallel control run to establish whether it as indeed the best route. Only when such coincidences as that described happen do you know.

[Zod]

Lazadude said:

tenmantaylor said:

It used to be amazing in London for finding quieter routes (hence quicker journeys) but now I'm out in the sticks it hardly ever seems to get updated by users. Nearly missed a train today (to London ironically) as Waze didn't tell me about a road closure.

Now this is the point where you say "well some one just hasn't reported it". Well that isn't true. I stumbled upon a closure a couple weeks ago that wasn't on Waze so I (safely) took the time to notify my fellow wazers of the closure.

Next day Waze tried to take me the same way and the closure was still there but not according to Waze.

Waze (and Google as thats what it basically is) uses "weighting" to reports. So the higher your level within Waze the more influence you have on having a report actually accepted.

Also, it won't close a road from a single users report unless they are the top teir (5% users) IIRC, they need other uses to corroborate / report the same thing.

Waze has been rubbish in London at reporting road closures recently. I am Waze Royalty (I am so proud), so my reports really ought to be getting through!