Overview
We have built our own proprietary model for predicting and calculating drive times.
We use a range of data sets such as OpenStreetMap and country-specific data, and then construct speed profiles based around road types, the surrounding area, and features of the road itself.
Once applied to a test map, these speed profiles are tuned so that drive times align across a representative sample of routes calculated using other leading A to B routing providers.
The map is then released into production.
The models are updated at least every two weeks with fresh data, taking into account any changes in the underlying road network, as well as changes to overall driving speeds.
Accounting for Traffic
The driving model does not use live traffic data.
Instead, for each region we sample drive times across an entire 24 hour period (on a weekday) which we then use to model congestion.
Our Custom endpoints provide further flexibility around traffic, with the option to choose between Balanced / Optimistic / Pessimistic traffic conditions
Choosing a different day of the week will not impact on the traffic conditions used, as the time of day is always interpreted as a typical midweek day