Google Maps has launched a feature that has been requested for years: the Isochrones API is now officially available in Public Preview. As a Google Maps Partner, we received this news first, and we’re happy to share it with you.
What is an isochrone?
An isochrone is an area showing which locations can be reached within a given time from a starting point, taking into account the actual road network and real-time traffic. Think of the question: “Where can my users go within 15 minutes?” Until now, there was no direct, ready-made solution for this.
What does the Isochrones API enable?
Developers can now provide a starting location, a time limit, and a mode of transportation. Based on real-time traffic data, the API then calculates the precise area reachable within that time and returns it as a polygon.
Until now, companies had to rely on complex, custom-built routing solutions or simple fixed-radius circles, which don’t account for traffic or the shape of the road network. That step is no longer necessary.
Why this matters
This capability opens up concrete applications across several industries:
- Real estate: buyers aren’t just looking for a home within 8 kilometres, but a home within a 30-minute commute to work.
- Logistics and e-commerce: delivery networks can define precise delivery zones with a hard time limit (for example, a 15-minute SLA), based on the actual street network.
- Retail: brands can map the catchment area of new store locations based on travel time rather than straight-line distance.
Get started
Google provides the following resources:
How we can help
As a Google Maps Partner, we help organisations in sectors such as real estate and logistics translate these new capabilities into working applications, from an initial proof of concept through to full integration. Do you recognise a use case where travel time matters more than straight-line distance? Get in touch, we’re happy to think it through with you
