It looks like Google Maps has been forced to remove the “Speed Camera” reporting alert from its apps, as it may have begun affecting income from speeding fines for the traffic police. The button to report “Mobile Speed Camera” has been removed from Google Maps app and instead replaced by an option to report “Congestion”.
A few weeks ago, Google Maps had added the ability for users to report either a “Crash” (this option still exists) or a “Mobile Speed Camera” within the apps. However, that option has since been removed.
By keeping the option to report “Mobile Speed Camera” on the Google Maps app, all users could reporting spotting a speed trap and then users following were alerted by the app of a speed camera ahead.
Google would also re-confirm by prompting “Is this mobile speed camera still here: Yes / No” on the app. It would also display a safety message asking the driver to respond only if it’s safe to do so.
Cities like New Delhi are adding multiple fixed speed cameras and CCTV cameras across important roads. These are fixed cameras monitored by a central control room, from which electronic challans are issued to traffic violators.
Users of Google Maps had started reporting these fixed cameras too on the app, although pointing them out as “Mobile Speed Cameras.” The maps app also displays speed limits for certain areas.
Maps automatically calculates traffic density and displays it on the app, based on the number of Android phone users using the route. Now, with the “Congestion” reporting feature, it hopes to make that even more effective.
We are not sure why Google has removed the option and will update the story once we get more info. For now, users can continue to report a crash or traffic congestion through the app.
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