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How Google Maps offers me an alternate route that is longer, slower, eats more fuel, and has tolls on it for some reason
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this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2026
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Someone in my family was briefly obsessed with the idea that Google had a habit of gathering information by treating its own users as guinea pigs. Sending users on routes that would help Google gather traffic flow information, rather than routes that made the best use of users' time.
As far as I know, that was an internet rumor, not the result of evidence or investigation. But it's the kind of allegation that's pretty much impossible to disprove.
Its either this or their routing alghoritm is being developed in kindergarten.
It is 100% confirmed that Google will route traffic outside of communities if community leaders request it. The famous example was the wealthy neighborhood that had a great view of the famous "Hollywood" sign who got annoyed at tourists being directed there to admire it.
Apologies but this Daily Mail article is the best I can find. It was back in 2014 and by now most of the other coverage is either behind a paywall or sites that no longer exist.
AFAIK Google does "spread" routes a bit if sufficient, close-enough alternatives exist. That helps reduce congestion, which at a large enough scale does help users to reach their destination faster than if they all took the "fastest" route.
Would it be a surprise? How would it gather traffic data if they don't send a few cars down an unpopular path? Not saying it is right.
I stopped trusting it when I drove to north Carolina and it had me get off 40 to take some backwater road that went through several small towns and actually made the trip longer and used more fuel.
It tried to do it on the same route a different day. I ignored it and the trip time decreased by 20 min when I skipped that part of the route and just stayed on 40.
If there's no cars there, there's no traffic data to collect. If there are already cars there, just use their data. Google doesn't just use maps to gather it. There's not much point in sending someone on an arbitrary detour for the hell of it.
Google does seem to often overestimate the practicality of the more rural routes, often pretending you can always stick to the speed limit there when the actual road would not be safe at those speeds. Plus more crossings, bends etc... slowing you down. Or maybe that day Google figured there was a traffic jam on 40.