Waze sees 60% drop in miles driven due to coronavirus, announces relief efforts

Ben Schoon | Apr 15 2020 - 8:45 am PT

During these crazy times we live in, a lot of things have been changing. Today, Google’s Waze is offering some insight on how the coronavirus outbreak has affected our driving habits, and the numbers are absolutely staggering.

In a blog post, Waze details numbers from around the globe to show how coronavirus has affected drivers. As shelter-in-place orders have become the norm in many articles, there’s no surprise at all that the numbers are down, but it’s interesting to see how things are different in areas around the world.

Globally, Waze saw its users driving 60% fewer miles between 2/11/2020–2/25/2020. Italy specifically saw the biggest drop at 90%. At this point, the United States is down by about 60% which, as seen below, is a pretty far cry from other regions.

How is Waze helping those clearly affected by the outbreak? First, the platform stopped to thank its active Map Editors for their work in keeping maps up to date with road closures, red zones, and more.

Waze has also partnered with WhyHunger and No Kid Hungry to map over 30,000 emergency food distribution locations in the United States. Waze is also working with local governments to give residents information about road closures, medical testing, food distribution, and more.

To support local businesses, Waze has also rolled out a new feature that identifies locations that offer drive-thru or curbside pickup services. Businesses who offer those services can take a look at this support document for more information.