It seems Google have changed access to their maps api’s and my free delivery app is now only allowed 8 drops on a route and won’t generate a route with any more drops than that. Seems the app owner needs to pay a fee which is unlikely in this case. What apps are popular?

Grab an a2z and do it that way?

How much is it?

You’ve got to love Google provide access for free for a few years until they’ve tied everyone in and then start putting licence fees in place.

It’s a great business model.

OP – I can’t help with alternatives but have you contacted the app’s owner to confirm they won’t pay the licence?

Back when I was a Parcel Force driver, we had to load the vans ourselves and put together our own delivery list. If there was an app which could sort all that out I’d happily pay for it out of my wages and have an extra cup of tea at 6a.m.

…we had to load the vans ourselves and put together our own delivery list. If there was an app which could sort all that out I’d happily pay for it out of my wages…

That ^^

My workplace spent a small fortune on a programme, with support, that would optimise our routes according to time windows, traffic patterns and even weather forecasts. It was an unmitigated disaster! We were getting 25-30% less work done using the system as it didn’t know where the actual drop-off point was and would randomly send you on a detour to a customer in the sticks then back to where you were half an hour ago.

No computer programme can account for local knowledge, personal ways of working and the fact that the delivery entrance might not be at the front of the building.

No computer programme can account for local knowledge, personal ways of working and the fact that the delivery entrance might not be at the front of the building.

This ^^^ and add to that, that if you have a delivery to make on a main road with double yellows, in the middle of a time-strapped day,you’re on a sticky wicket.

just dont take any right hand turns! Sorted!

https://qz.com/895691/ups-drivers-dont-turn-left-and-it-saves-them-10-million-gallons-of-gas-a-year/

Wow. So you go; right, right, right then straight ahead instead of just left?! I’ll do it if everyone else does too. Oh wait, “…and most people are likely only to change their driving style if they personally benefit”.

And there’s the rub. Even though it’s (possibly) beneficial, people will generally do their own thing.

thanks for the help. I only deliver in and around my local town so I should be able to manage without an app but I dont have the ‘knowledge’ or rather I dont have the capacity to remember all the roads. My current app was only ever in development so wont be paying Google anytime soon. Road Warrior looks good and is £31/year. Definitely worth it to keep me from throwing the odd wobbler. I’m not cut out for this job but I do enjoy it.

at work we use copilot for the satnav, it takes you to the door as it is based on gps coordinates(i’m told), but I can put in 45 trog street and it will takeme there
however I dont know the software they use to plot the routes, i just download the route for the day,and it takesme to maybe 20 drops.
I never know where I am nor where I’m going