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This document outlines the Roads Management Insights usage guidelines for you to use the
service and meet usage requirements. It also outlines the known limitations to
help you work effectively with the current offering.
Usage guidelines
Review the following guidelines to get optimal service value while adhering to
policies regarding eligibility, permitted use, data access scope, and compliant
route selection.
Eligibility & verification
Eligible entities: Access to the Roads Management Insights service is
specifically intended for public sector entities and infrastructure
managers. This includes, but is not limited to, private and public data
authorities, public utility companies, cities, and regions.
Verification process: Be prepared for an eligibility check to
confirm your status. If accessing Roads Management Insights through indirect
channels (e.g., partners), confirmation from the official end-user
account may be required.
Permitted use cases
Goal alignment: Roads Management Insights data is designed to support
initiatives focused on improving road network safety and efficiency,
effective management of public infrastructure, and contributions to
pollution reduction. A broad interpretation aligned with these core
goals is encouraged.
Example applications:
Identifying issues with road network.
Monitoring impact of interventions.
Identifying traffic patterns.
Understanding your data access scope
Jurisdictional coverage: Your primary data access covers roads
within your officially managed territory.
Adjacent area requests: You can request access to limited adjacent
areas, such as a buffer of up to 20km, if necessary to monitor direct
impacts on your core network. Submitted buffer zones require
verification and should generally not exceed approximately 30 km from
your core jurisdiction.
Road utility limitations: For privacy reasons, and to ensure good
quality and privacy, the service does not share information for routes
with low traffic volume. When a route is created, the Roads Selection
API service first verifies that the traffic volume for that route
exceeds a minimum threshold. If this threshold is not met, traffic
information for that route won't be published.
Selecting compliant road segments
To make sure your selected routes meet the necessary data quality and
utility requirements:
High-traffic roads: Selecting short segments on high-traffic
roads is typically acceptable.
Less busy roads: For roads with lower traffic volumes, make
sure your defined segments include intersections within the
stretch. This helps them pass the necessary utility checks for
data quality.
Ongoing compliance & monitoring
Google performs ongoing programmatic checks to make sure selected
routes comply with both Jurisdiction and Road Utility guidelines.
Low traffic volume evaluations:
All published routes undergo quarterly evaluations for traffic
volume to make sure they are compliant with privacy
thresholds.
If a route is determined to have low traffic during an
evaluation, a warning message is issued in the BigQuery
routes_status table.
Routes detected with low traffic for four consecutive quarters
are classified as invalid, and the publication of their
traffic information ceases. Invalidated routes remain subject
to future evaluations and can be reclassified as valid if
traffic volume exceeds the threshold.
Route validation status is available in the BigQuery
routes_status table or can be queried through the
get-selected-route method using the selected_route_id.
Jurisdiction validation:
After a route is created and before any information is
retrieved, Google validates that the route's coordinates fall
within your managed jurisdiction.
If a route is partially or completely outside the defined
jurisdiction, it is marked as invalid, and no information is
retrieved.
Known limitations
This section details current known limitations of Roads Management Insights and details
on how to work within these limitations.
Historical data availability
Data collection start: Data collection and caching for your selected
routes only begin after you define and submit them to the Roads Management Insights system.
Guidance: Allow for an initial period after defining routes for
sufficient historical data to accumulate, which is necessary for
comprehensive analysis.
Understanding route behavior (dynamic versus persisted)
RMI's core functionality: Roads Management Insights primarily leverages
dynamic routing, utilizing near real-time traffic information to provide
the most accurate current travel times (ETA) and speed data.
Persisting routes: You can define specific routes for ongoing
monitoring using waypoints. Google recommends following best practices
for waypoint selection to accurately define your intended paths.
Important consideration: Because real-world conditions are dynamic,
a route path defined by static waypoints might occasionally become
unavailable. This can occur due to unexpected dynamic events such as
temporary road closures. Plan accordingly for potential temporary gaps
in data on specific persisted paths.
Data accuracy on low-traffic roads
Expected accuracy: Data accuracy may naturally be lower on roads with
very infrequent traffic. This is due to fewer real-time data points being
available for such segments.
Guidance: For the most reliable analytics, Google recommends focusing
your route selection on roads with sufficient utility (higher traffic
volumes). Alternatively, make sure that segments selected on less busy roads
include intersections, as outlined in the "Road Restrictions" section. This
limitation directly informs the route selection restrictions mentioned
previously.
Additional usage information
Review the following terms to understand how the service interacts with other
products and how data is handled.
Customer's use of BigQuery, Cloud PubSub, and Analytics Hub is subject to
Customer's separate agreement with Google Cloud, including any Fees incurred
as a result of the use BigQuery, Cloud PubSub, or Analytics Hub.
For clarity, Google Maps Content is not "Customer Data" as defined in Google Cloud agreement. Use of the Google Maps Content is subject to the terms of the Maps Agreement.
Segments. A Customer's access is limited to road networks that they
directly manage or that directly impact a public utility they manage. Upon
request, a Customer may be granted access to roads in adjacent areas if those
roads directly influence their primary network or managed infrastructure.
Customer may not access Google Maps Content that is or could be associated
with any roads that have limited volume in traffic (e.g., residential areas).
For roads with moderate utilization, Google Maps Content will be only
available for routes with greater lengths.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Usage guidelines and limitations\n\nThis document outlines the Roads Management Insights usage guidelines for you to use the\nservice and meet usage requirements. It also outlines the known limitations to\nhelp you work effectively with the current offering.\n\nUsage guidelines\n----------------\n\nReview the following guidelines to get optimal service value while adhering to\npolicies regarding eligibility, permitted use, data access scope, and compliant\nroute selection.\n\n1. Eligibility \\& verification\n - **Eligible entities:** Access to the Roads Management Insights service is specifically intended for public sector entities and infrastructure managers. This includes, but is not limited to, private and public data authorities, public utility companies, cities, and regions.\n - **Verification process:** Be prepared for an eligibility check to confirm your status. If accessing Roads Management Insights through indirect channels (e.g., partners), confirmation from the official end-user account may be required.\n2. Permitted use cases\n - **Goal alignment:** Roads Management Insights data is designed to support initiatives focused on improving road network safety and efficiency, effective management of public infrastructure, and contributions to pollution reduction. A broad interpretation aligned with these core goals is encouraged.\n - **Example applications:**\n - Identifying issues with road network.\n - Monitoring impact of interventions.\n - Identifying traffic patterns.\n3. Understanding your data access scope\n - **Jurisdictional coverage:** Your primary data access covers roads within your officially managed territory.\n - **Adjacent area requests:** You can request access to limited adjacent areas, such as a buffer of up to 20km, if necessary to monitor direct impacts on your core network. Submitted buffer zones require verification and should generally not exceed approximately 30 km from your core jurisdiction.\n - **Road utility limitations:** For privacy reasons, and to ensure good quality and privacy, the service does not share information for routes with low traffic volume. When a route is created, the Roads Selection API service first verifies that the traffic volume for that route exceeds a minimum threshold. If this threshold is not met, traffic information for that route won't be published.\n4. Selecting compliant road segments\n - To make sure your selected routes meet the necessary data quality and utility requirements:\n - **High-traffic roads:** Selecting short segments on high-traffic roads is typically acceptable.\n - **Less busy roads:** For roads with lower traffic volumes, make sure your defined segments include intersections within the stretch. This helps them pass the necessary utility checks for data quality.\n5. Ongoing compliance \\& monitoring\n - Google performs ongoing programmatic checks to make sure selected routes comply with both Jurisdiction and Road Utility guidelines.\n - **Low traffic volume evaluations:**\n - All published routes undergo quarterly evaluations for traffic volume to make sure they are compliant with privacy thresholds.\n - If a route is determined to have low traffic during an evaluation, a warning message is issued in the BigQuery `routes_status` table.\n - Routes detected with low traffic for four consecutive quarters are classified as invalid, and the publication of their traffic information ceases. Invalidated routes remain subject to future evaluations and can be reclassified as valid if traffic volume exceeds the threshold.\n - Route validation status is available in the BigQuery `routes_status` table or can be queried through the `get-selected-route` method using the `selected_route_id`.\n - **Jurisdiction validation:**\n - After a route is created and before any information is retrieved, Google validates that the route's coordinates fall within your managed jurisdiction.\n - If a route is partially or completely outside the defined jurisdiction, it is marked as invalid, and no information is retrieved.\n\nKnown limitations\n-----------------\n\nThis section details current known limitations of Roads Management Insights and details\non how to work within these limitations.\n\n1. Historical data availability\n - **Data collection start:** Data collection and caching for your selected routes only begin *after* you define and submit them to the Roads Management Insights system.\n - **Guidance:** Allow for an initial period after defining routes for sufficient historical data to accumulate, which is necessary for comprehensive analysis.\n2. Understanding route behavior (dynamic versus persisted)\n - **RMI's core functionality:** Roads Management Insights primarily leverages dynamic routing, utilizing near real-time traffic information to provide the most accurate current travel times (ETA) and speed data.\n - **Persisting routes:** You can define specific routes for ongoing monitoring using waypoints. Google recommends following best practices for waypoint selection to accurately define your intended paths.\n - **Important consideration:** Because real-world conditions are dynamic, a route path defined by static waypoints might occasionally become unavailable. This can occur due to unexpected dynamic events such as temporary road closures. Plan accordingly for potential temporary gaps in data on specific persisted paths.\n3. Data accuracy on low-traffic roads\n4. **Expected accuracy:** Data accuracy may naturally be lower on roads with very infrequent traffic. This is due to fewer real-time data points being available for such segments.\n5. **Guidance:** For the most reliable analytics, Google recommends focusing your route selection on roads with sufficient utility (higher traffic volumes). Alternatively, make sure that segments selected on less busy roads include intersections, as outlined in the \"Road Restrictions\" section. This limitation directly informs the route selection restrictions mentioned previously.\n\nAdditional usage information\n----------------------------\n\nReview the following terms to understand how the service interacts with other\nproducts and how data is handled.\n\n- Customer's use of BigQuery, Cloud PubSub, and Analytics Hub is subject to Customer's separate agreement with Google Cloud, including any Fees incurred as a result of the use BigQuery, Cloud PubSub, or Analytics Hub.\n- For clarity, Google Maps Content is not \"Customer Data\" as defined in Google Cloud agreement. Use of the Google Maps Content is subject to the terms of the Maps Agreement.\n- **Segments.** A Customer's access is limited to road networks that they directly manage or that directly impact a public utility they manage. Upon request, a Customer may be granted access to roads in adjacent areas if those roads directly influence their primary network or managed infrastructure. Customer may not access Google Maps Content that is or could be associated with any roads that have limited volume in traffic (e.g., residential areas). For roads with moderate utilization, Google Maps Content will be only available for routes with greater lengths."]]