More footpathsFORUMS HOME SEARCH FORUMS

Hi,

plotaroute looks really good and is a joy to use compared with other sites. I notice that not all footpaths are shown in the 'Paths' option, it's mostly bridleways. Is it possible to introduce ALL footpaths or are there restictions imposed by licensing bodies?

Phil Taylor 

Hi Phil - The Paths map uses open source data, so coverage is not 100% in all areas.  It isn't commercially viable for us to provide other maps, like Ordnance Survey, as part of a free service at present.  Hopefully as the site grows, this is something that we can look into.

John

Would you consider adding OS map support as a premium-only feature, so at least you won't be running at a loss with it?

We'd certainly like to add Ordnance Survey maps to the site at some point, but there is a very high fixed cost of using OS maps, so even if done as part of a premium membership we would need a lot of users to take it up for it to be financially viable.  We'll keep this under review though.

Anyone interested in us adding OS maps to the site can vote for this on our Feature Requests list (number 22).

John

Thanks John. 

I'd also love to see this.  plotaroute is great eg for route planning in Spain, but in the UK OpenStreetMap isn't that great - doesn't show a lot of public footpaths (perhaps because people use OS maps instead).  I can see OS maps using Bing Maps (at no charge) - wonder if there is some route through a Bing Maps API?

The main barrier to us adding Ordnance Survey maps is unfortunately Ordnance Survey's strict rules regarding copyright.  They won't allow OS maps to be used within a Google Maps application due to concerns about Google's Terms of Use, which Ordnance Survey says do not sufficiently protect their intellectual property. It's hard to see a way to overcome this other than to stop using Google Maps.

John

Seeing as Google maps is a premium feature anyway, could users not choose between Google maps or OS maps as part of their subscription? Thus avoiding the conflict? Or am I missing the point here?

Unfortunately that wouldn't circumvent the problem Steve, as our Premium route planner has been bulit using the Google Maps platform, where Google Maps Terms of Use apply - OS maps can't be used where Google Terms of Use apply.  

Any movement on this topic / plans to impliment OS maps anytime soon?

Sorry Steve, the position of Ordnance Survey is still this same - see our FAQ on the use of Ordnance Survey maps.