8 ms·

Why Waze is so popular in Costa Rica (2014)

54 points by hownottowrite 12y ago

beering 12y ago
I'm always impressed by how hard people will work for a for-profit company for no pay. Anyone here ever work for CDDB back in the day?
- maxerickson 12y ago
  I wouldn't do it either, but it sounds like they are solving a problem for the people around them. (A simple way to look at it is that if Google/Waze manage to extract some amount $X in profit because of their effort, it is very likely that the people using the product derived a benefit greater than $X from that same effort. It's also possible that some benefit is delivered to the users from things that Google/Waze doesn't manage to profit off of.)
- thekaleb 12y ago
  There is return on investment even if it is not monetarily. Users or reCAPTCHA or Duolingo also do work for for-profit companies as well. From the article: > “Some people ask ‘Why do you work for free? Why do you spend so many hours a week doing this mapping?’ ” Hidalgo said. “You feel good about knowing that the people who drive around everyday save time because you are investing your time in fixing the roads and doing this mapping.”
- fit2rule 12y ago
  .. and before CDDB, it was Viewpoint Data Labs .. its a part of the heritage of the Internet at this point.
resu 12y ago
This really shows how using technology can leapfrog very costly gradual infrastructure upgrades in terms of both time and cost. Amazing! It does make we wonder though... Google Maps / Waze must get a decent amount of information from tax funded sources. Do they give back helpful information such as e.g. traffic flow/conditions in this example as well? Without having to participate in a special 'campaign'?
mullen 12y ago
> “Most of our streets don’t have road names so a lot of the addresses end up being very much next to some kind of landmark associated with it, and that’s how we give directions,” Urbina said. “There’s never been good maps generated to be able to get to where you’re trying to go.” How does a country not name its streets? I just can not wrap my head around that very concept. Here in the US, we name hiking trails and put it on the maps.
- GnarfGnarf 12y ago
  I've never been to Costa Rica, but I'm guessing people would steal road signs, so the government can't afford to put them up?
  - user_0001 12y ago
    Dirty thieving spics huh? :-\
  - exelius 12y ago
    Costa Rica is actually pretty well off. It has some poverty to be sure, but its population is small and the country is very safe. Most roads have names, but many roads have the same names, and there's no consistent numbering scheme. Also, outside the capital, there's really not much of a need for signs: Costa Rica is small and very tourist-friendly, so asking for directions is easy (English is very common and taught in a lot of the schools).
    - the_af 12y ago
      During my vacation in Costa Rica, I found the Ticos friendly, but in my experience they give terrible directions! Everything was "about 8 km straight ahead" with every Tico that I asked, even when it was actually 50 km :) Language wasn't an issue because I'm a native Spanish speaker (funnily enough, many Ticos tried to talk to me in English even when I told them I spoke Spanish natively! Though to be fair I encountered this phenomenon in many tourist-oriented countries).
      - 12y ago
nickysielicki 12y ago
I wish they'd have contributed to openstreetmap instead! http://www.openstreetmap.org/ http://www.openstreetmap.org/
- cake 12y ago
  Pretty sad that they contributed hundred of hours of their time that they could lose any second if Google decided to ditch Waze. Openstreetmaps allows you to download all the data for free.
  - nickysielicki 12y ago
    Yup. And it's really great data, too. Building names, classification of building types, etc. I did a project with a friend last semester using PostGIS with data from OSM and google glass. We learned a lot. http://www.madisonar.com/ http://www.madisonar.com/
  - eli 12y ago
    Presumably Google would incorporate that data into Google Maps if it's valuable, not simply delete it.
- forrestthewoods 12y ago
  And I wish open street map was licensed in a way to make it more usable and useful to the world.
  - nickysielicki 12y ago
    What's wrong with the licensing?
    - forrestthewoods 12y ago
      "If you publicly use any adapted version of this database, or works produced from an adapted database, you must also offer that adapted database under the ODbL." It's basically a GPL vs MIT issue. A lot of people think GPL is better for great reasons. A lot of people think MIT is better for great reasons. I fall in the latter camp. http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/summary/ http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/summary/
Randgalt 12y ago
Same issues here in Panama. We love Waze in Panama!
plumeria 12y ago
Waze is very useful here in CR. Many businesses here even put a Waze link on their contact page.
- TheCowboy 12y ago
  Do you know why they favor Waze over something like openstreetmaps.org? Is it related to the tooling? Did it just become popular first?
  - albemuth 12y ago
    Voice turn by turn nav and traffic updates and reporting cops, roadwork etc. I use it even on my commute just to get those alerts.
  - plumeria 12y ago
    Yeah, I think it is, in fact, because Waze is very easy to use for everyone, especially for people with non-technical backgrounds. The support for Spanish locale must be another reason. Note however, that I haven't used OSM myself, so I can't truly compare them fairly.
  - dedward 12y ago
    Does openstreetmaps have a proper cross-platform phone app with turn by turn instructions while you are driving that works well - and does it have a good majority of costa rican roads?
agentCR 12y ago
Costa Rican here. The article doesn't come close explaining the complexity (and inconvenience) of addresses in Costa Rica. We even use landmarks which no longer exist (e.g. from the old pharmacy in X, take a left), or use any distinctive surrounding object for official guidance (trees, fences, wall color). Landmark usage for directions is greatly due to poor city planning throughout the last century and the address culture grown around it. Most city streets do have names/numbers, but are pretty much unknown to the common citizen. Waze and its contributors have done a truly amazing job. I believe OSM has lagged behind Waze because Waze was the first GPS nav system that actually worked in the country, and was therefore so greatly welcomed. P.D. Nokia maps also worked decently, but GPS-capable nokia phones were scarce in the market.
- eli 12y ago
  Nokia's map data lives on as "HERE" https://www.here.com/?map=9.9258,-84.0787,8,normal https://www.here.com/?map=9.9258,-84.0787,8,normal
- maxerickson 12y ago
  In the US, there were some pretty significant efforts to standardize road names and house numbering (this largely happened at the county level). One of the big reasons was to improve fire response, which was largely accomplished by pushing the system in the direction of being logical (so roads in a county will often be numbered sequentially and the like). Are there agencies in Costa Rica that would push such a standardization, or if the existing names and numbers are already reasonable, push the use of them?
  - plumeria 12y ago
    I think the use of road names will depend a lot on the local governments (called municipalidades). Many streets don't have signage labeling them with their names. Much recently (a few years ago), the Municipalidad de San José started putting street name signage, bus route signage, etc.. So I think we will eventually get there somewhere in the future. Regarding postal codes, Correos de Costa Rica already publishes codes at the Distrito level (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_codes_in_Costa_Rica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_codes_in_Costa_Rica) Plus, Waze is helping also. Every time I use it, I can hear a street's name.
sokoloff 12y ago
I spent 10 days in Costa Rica last month and didn't have a data plan with me (so Waze is way less useful). I used (and liked) the maps from Cenrut.org, which are easy to install on a Garmin device I brought with me. You can also rent GPSs from the car rental places, but for a long stay, it's just as cheap to buy a Garmin here in the states and install the free Cenrut maps. The Cenrut data wasn't perfect, but it was way more than adequate. It would be madness to try to navigate the country from only a printed street map!

54 points by hownottowrite 12y ago

I'm always impressed by how hard people will work for a for-profit company for no pay. Anyone here ever work for CDDB back in the day?

maxerickson 12y ago
I wouldn't do it either, but it sounds like they are solving a problem for the people around them. (A simple way to look at it is that if Google/Waze manage to extract some amount $X in profit because of their effort, it is very likely that the people using the product derived a benefit greater than $X from that same effort. It's also possible that some benefit is delivered to the users from things that Google/Waze doesn't manage to profit off of.)
thekaleb 12y ago
There is return on investment even if it is not monetarily. Users or reCAPTCHA or Duolingo also do work for for-profit companies as well. From the article: > “Some people ask ‘Why do you work for free? Why do you spend so many hours a week doing this mapping?’ ” Hidalgo said. “You feel good about knowing that the people who drive around everyday save time because you are investing your time in fixing the roads and doing this mapping.”
fit2rule 12y ago
.. and before CDDB, it was Viewpoint Data Labs .. its a part of the heritage of the Internet at this point.

resu 12y ago

This really shows how using technology can leapfrog very costly gradual infrastructure upgrades in terms of both time and cost. Amazing! It does make we wonder though... Google Maps / Waze must get a decent amount of information from tax funded sources. Do they give back helpful information such as e.g. traffic flow/conditions in this example as well? Without having to participate in a special 'campaign'?

mullen 12y ago

> “Most of our streets don’t have road names so a lot of the addresses end up being very much next to some kind of landmark associated with it, and that’s how we give directions,” Urbina said. “There’s never been good maps generated to be able to get to where you’re trying to go.” How does a country not name its streets? I just can not wrap my head around that very concept. Here in the US, we name hiking trails and put it on the maps.

GnarfGnarf 12y ago
I've never been to Costa Rica, but I'm guessing people would steal road signs, so the government can't afford to put them up?
- user_0001 12y ago
  Dirty thieving spics huh? :-\
- exelius 12y ago
  Costa Rica is actually pretty well off. It has some poverty to be sure, but its population is small and the country is very safe. Most roads have names, but many roads have the same names, and there's no consistent numbering scheme. Also, outside the capital, there's really not much of a need for signs: Costa Rica is small and very tourist-friendly, so asking for directions is easy (English is very common and taught in a lot of the schools).
  - the_af 12y ago
    During my vacation in Costa Rica, I found the Ticos friendly, but in my experience they give terrible directions! Everything was "about 8 km straight ahead" with every Tico that I asked, even when it was actually 50 km :) Language wasn't an issue because I'm a native Spanish speaker (funnily enough, many Ticos tried to talk to me in English even when I told them I spoke Spanish natively! Though to be fair I encountered this phenomenon in many tourist-oriented countries).
    - 12y ago

nickysielicki 12y ago

I wish they'd have contributed to openstreetmap instead! http://www.openstreetmap.org/ http://www.openstreetmap.org/

cake 12y ago
Pretty sad that they contributed hundred of hours of their time that they could lose any second if Google decided to ditch Waze. Openstreetmaps allows you to download all the data for free.
- nickysielicki 12y ago
  Yup. And it's really great data, too. Building names, classification of building types, etc. I did a project with a friend last semester using PostGIS with data from OSM and google glass. We learned a lot. http://www.madisonar.com/ http://www.madisonar.com/
- eli 12y ago
  Presumably Google would incorporate that data into Google Maps if it's valuable, not simply delete it.
forrestthewoods 12y ago
And I wish open street map was licensed in a way to make it more usable and useful to the world.
- nickysielicki 12y ago
  What's wrong with the licensing?
  - forrestthewoods 12y ago
    "If you publicly use any adapted version of this database, or works produced from an adapted database, you must also offer that adapted database under the ODbL." It's basically a GPL vs MIT issue. A lot of people think GPL is better for great reasons. A lot of people think MIT is better for great reasons. I fall in the latter camp. http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/summary/ http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/summary/

Randgalt 12y ago

Same issues here in Panama. We love Waze in Panama!

plumeria 12y ago

Waze is very useful here in CR. Many businesses here even put a Waze link on their contact page.

TheCowboy 12y ago
Do you know why they favor Waze over something like openstreetmaps.org? Is it related to the tooling? Did it just become popular first?
- albemuth 12y ago
  Voice turn by turn nav and traffic updates and reporting cops, roadwork etc. I use it even on my commute just to get those alerts.
- plumeria 12y ago
  Yeah, I think it is, in fact, because Waze is very easy to use for everyone, especially for people with non-technical backgrounds. The support for Spanish locale must be another reason. Note however, that I haven't used OSM myself, so I can't truly compare them fairly.
- dedward 12y ago
  Does openstreetmaps have a proper cross-platform phone app with turn by turn instructions while you are driving that works well - and does it have a good majority of costa rican roads?

agentCR 12y ago

Costa Rican here. The article doesn't come close explaining the complexity (and inconvenience) of addresses in Costa Rica. We even use landmarks which no longer exist (e.g. from the old pharmacy in X, take a left), or use any distinctive surrounding object for official guidance (trees, fences, wall color). Landmark usage for directions is greatly due to poor city planning throughout the last century and the address culture grown around it. Most city streets do have names/numbers, but are pretty much unknown to the common citizen. Waze and its contributors have done a truly amazing job. I believe OSM has lagged behind Waze because Waze was the first GPS nav system that actually worked in the country, and was therefore so greatly welcomed. P.D. Nokia maps also worked decently, but GPS-capable nokia phones were scarce in the market.

eli 12y ago
Nokia's map data lives on as "HERE" https://www.here.com/?map=9.9258,-84.0787,8,normal https://www.here.com/?map=9.9258,-84.0787,8,normal
maxerickson 12y ago
In the US, there were some pretty significant efforts to standardize road names and house numbering (this largely happened at the county level). One of the big reasons was to improve fire response, which was largely accomplished by pushing the system in the direction of being logical (so roads in a county will often be numbered sequentially and the like). Are there agencies in Costa Rica that would push such a standardization, or if the existing names and numbers are already reasonable, push the use of them?
- plumeria 12y ago
  I think the use of road names will depend a lot on the local governments (called municipalidades). Many streets don't have signage labeling them with their names. Much recently (a few years ago), the Municipalidad de San José started putting street name signage, bus route signage, etc.. So I think we will eventually get there somewhere in the future. Regarding postal codes, Correos de Costa Rica already publishes codes at the Distrito level (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_codes_in_Costa_Rica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_codes_in_Costa_Rica) Plus, Waze is helping also. Every time I use it, I can hear a street's name.

sokoloff 12y ago

I spent 10 days in Costa Rica last month and didn't have a data plan with me (so Waze is way less useful). I used (and liked) the maps from Cenrut.org, which are easy to install on a Garmin device I brought with me. You can also rent GPSs from the car rental places, but for a long stay, it's just as cheap to buy a Garmin here in the states and install the free Cenrut maps. The Cenrut data wasn't perfect, but it was way more than adequate. It would be madness to try to navigate the country from only a printed street map!