Google Maps launches motorbike service in Kenya

Google Maps users in Kenya can now smile after a motorbike choice was added to travel modes on the platform that offers direction and navigation services to millions of users across the world.

Through its Country Manager Charles Murito, Google said it aims to make lives better for Kenyans by providing turn-by-turn navigation online services to access areas impenetrable by cars in a shorter duration.

Mr Murito was speaking at an event held in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism in Westlands, Nairobi on Monday.

FIRST TO USE SERVICE

Kenya is the first African country to use the new service that has been successful in India where it has attracted thousands of motorbike riders since its launch in December 2017.

The Alphabet Inc owned subsidiary also said it will now work closely with boda-boda riders to identify routes that can be used during high road traffic in major towns in Kenya.

“For over one million Kenyans, boda-bodas are a convenient and affordable way to move and transport goods. The new motorbike mode now provides directions for boda-boda riders to allow for more time efficient routes,” Google said in a statement.

STREET VIEW

The tech giant also launched Street View, a service that allows users to see locations and destinations on their phones as they actually appear when they get there.

The service is currently available for users in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, Nyeri and Malindi.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala lauded Street View as a great innovation that will boost tourism in Kenya.

He urged hotel and tourism van owners to enable free Wi-Fi to ease search for routes within game parks and reserves.

“We are excited that Google Street View is coming to the national parks but it is very unfortunate that some tourism companies still believe offering free Wi-Fi in vans and hotels is a breach of privacy,” he said.

He said majority of tourists across the world nowadays are millenials (18-30 years), who are tech savvy and expect services to be delivered in a seamless virtual manner, and thus there is need to align the tourism industry in Kenya with technological trends.

Country Google Marketing Manager Farzana Khubchandani said research has shown that Google users now want search results more quickly and the company has moved with speed to satisfy that need.\

FASTER SEARCH

“We now have Google Go and YouTube Go which allow faster search of text and videos besides providing text to speech services at the user’s reading speed choice,” she said.

Swahili lovers in East Africa have not been left out as Google Swahili now fetches the best matches on words searched on Google since its launch three months ago.

“We have partnered with Safaricom to allow Kenyans pay for mobile apps on Google PlayStore via M-Pesa. Programmers of these apps and users of AdSense can also be paid via the same platform,” said Mr Murito.

At the event held at Movenpick Hotel and attended by hundreds of innovators from the country, Google announced a Sh100 million grant to train Kenyan farmers on digital skills aimed at improving food security.

Kenya has over 30 million internet users with 2.5 million Kenyans having benefited from Google’s training camps and boosting the skills of over 9,000 app developers in the country.