If I was was the CFO I would be googling a new supplier 

Well, they have $29k of marginal new cost every month with which to discover how expensive software projects can really be. If they take 3 months to decide... you get the picture

As for Google's move... well there you go. Time for an alternative. Competition does that

Time to shop around for a better deal anyone?

A good M.O. by google. Get people hooked on your services, then jack up the price.

Uber, Facebook, Amazon, Spotify, Netflix....

Does anyone know if Google license on a annual or monthly basis?

But even on a monthly basis it will take time to integrate an alternative provider into their site, so its probably at least 3 months they will need to continue with Google's new pricing

The real kicker for the regional council is that they have a huge bunch of route changes coming in Mid July, so their website traffic is likely to be pretty busy,

Apparently Google also just removed the ability to order an Uber from within maps also, which I guess is also related to behind the scenes licensing wrangles.... 

I wonder how essential a map service thing is for public transport? Anyone here depend on it?

DarthKermit:

 

I wonder how essential a map service thing is for public transport? Anyone here depend on it?

 

I tried using the metlink app in the weekend.  You can't plan a journey in it, but enter in your current stop number where it will tell you the next trains....but then it wont tell you where they are going.

Where as google maps I can say I want to go from here to there, and it will detail the walking and public transport options to get there.

While metlink could develop that, how many months (at $30000) would it take before they spent the development costs of adding those features to catch up to google.

freitasm:

Google Maps monthly bill goes up from $1000 to $30000 for Metlink Wellington. 

Where do we even start?

davidcole:

 

DarthKermit:

 

I wonder how essential a map service thing is for public transport? Anyone here depend on it?

 

 

I tried using the metlink app in the weekend.  You can't plan a journey in it, but enter in your current stop number where it will tell you the next trains....but then it wont tell you where they are going.

 

Where as google maps I can say I want to go from here to there, and it will detail the walking and public transport options to get there.

 

While metlink could develop that, how many months (at $30000) would it take before they spent the development costs of adding those features to catch up to google.

 

Don't the train stations have electronic signs for when the next train is due?

DarthKermit:

 

davidcole:

 

DarthKermit:

 

I wonder how essential a map service thing is for public transport? Anyone here depend on it?

 

 

I tried using the metlink app in the weekend.  You can't plan a journey in it, but enter in your current stop number where it will tell you the next trains....but then it wont tell you where they are going.

 

Where as google maps I can say I want to go from here to there, and it will detail the walking and public transport options to get there.

 

While metlink could develop that, how many months (at $30000) would it take before they spent the development costs of adding those features to catch up to google.

 

 

Don't the train stations have electronic signs for when the next train is due?

 

I was at a bus stop.  This one didn't have a sign.  Some do.  Yes the train stations do now.

DarthKermit:

 

Time to shop around for a better deal anyone?

 

LOL.

The problem I have with this is that google is just reselling our data, much of it gathered/put together by volunteers. I'm starting to get very irritated with corporations like this. Much of the data they receive for traffic reporting etc is all collected from unaware android users anyway. Much of the map/interchange/roads data is also edited by volunteers.

There is so much that could be said on this and the whole SAAS topic. But I do wonder how many actual 'people' actually use this service. Whats wrong with old format timetables. Also if they cease paying, will that also mean Google maps own train time calculations etc won't work? Putting up the pricing to this degree could potentially mean that they lose the 12k of revenue they already make, and they end up with less data, such as train and bus time times feeding back into their system.

It is probably why people  use open source systems over proprietary ones, as you have more control over pricing. But the downside is that their staffing costs maybe higher, so it could work out at about the same price or more anyway.

I do like some of th things google has done for the internet. But the problem is that they regularly change things, which often negatively affect people. I have a tiny youtube channel, and recently they changed their monetisation terms for small creators like me. Because I don't have 1000 subscribers, and my videos don't get enough minutes viewed, they stopped paying me for my monetising my videos. It wasn't a lot of money, but paid some of my overheads. So I have  a bit of credit in my account but it won't be paid out until it hits $100, but that can't happen unless the chanell is monetised again. These sorts of thing are really annoying. 

mattwnz:

 

There is so much that could be said on this and the whole SAAS topic. But I do wonder how many actual 'people' actually use this service. Whats wrong with old format timetables. Also if they cease paying, will that also mean Google maps own train time calculations etc won't work? Putting up the pricing to this degree could potentially mean that they lose the 12k of revenue they already make, and they end up with less data, such as train and bus time times feeding back into their system.

 

It is probably why people  use open source systems over proprietary ones, as you have more control over pricing. But the downside is that their staffing costs maybe higher, so it could work out at about the same price or more anyway.

 

I do like some of th things google has done for the internet. But the problem is that they regularly change things, which often negatively affect people. I have a tiny youtube channel, and recently they changed their monetisation terms for small creators like me. Because I don't have 1000 subscribers, and my videos don't get enough minutes viewed, they stopped paying me for my monetising my videos. It wasn't a lot of money, but paid some of my overheads. So I have  a bit of credit in my account but it won't be paid out until it hits $100, but that can't happen unless the chanell is monetised again. These sorts of thing are really annoying. 

 

isn't a journey-centric view (ie I want to go from here to there) better than just presenting the user with a list of route numbers and times?  It probably doesn't affect day to day users/commuters, but anyone else trying to get somewhere when they are new to a city or just trying something new and don't know that a 130 bus goes from The Hutt recreation ground, passing xyz business on the way to the station.

Find it a bit hard to believe that there'd be such a massive immediate price rise - strikes me that it probably wasn't properly licensed to begin with and perhaps this reflects some claw back of that;

Or it's a true-up based on usage numbers, in which case code your app to optimize the use of the service rather than having it call the api like a crazy stalker - there's no way we have (1) enough people in New Zealand (2) using that app (3) often enough to generate that amount of usage spend unless the app is extremely chatty with the API service.

Also get an architect/dev lead to assess options, include procurement/commercial to review what you're getting into before jumping headfirst and using GMaps as a default. It's only free until it isn't.

Also think about caching results and only invalidating your cache every X seconds - no way anyone using that app needs to see their location update more often than what? 10 seconds? 20?

Not the first to just not understand how much an app is using a service - often takes sticker shock like this to drive some investment into making it better.

grimwulf:

 

Find it a bit hard to believe that there'd be such a massive immediate price rise - strikes me that it probably wasn't properly licensed to begin with and perhaps this reflects some claw back of that;

 

Or it's a true-up based on usage numbers, in which case code your app to optimize the use of the service rather than having it call the api like a crazy stalker - there's no way we have (1) enough people in New Zealand (2) using that app (3) often enough to generate that amount of usage spend unless the app is extremely chatty with the API service.

 

Also get an architect/dev lead to assess options, include procurement/commercial to review what you're getting into before jumping headfirst and using GMaps as a default. It's only free until it isn't.

 

Also think about caching results and only invalidating your cache every X seconds - no way anyone using that app needs to see their location update more often than what? 10 seconds? 20?

 

Not the first to just not understand how much an app is using a service - often takes sticker shock like this to drive some investment into making it better.

 

 

 

it works the other way around.....metlink provides their stops/routes and timetables to google for inclusion in their maps.  There's also a real time service you can populate, but I'm not sure if that is used...in fact it might be.  I remember when metlink was adding the data to google, as I asked for for a dump of it to have a play with which at the time they were happy to supply.