Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
It’s not designed to replace Google Maps - purely to supplement it: this week the German government released a new Autobahn app which should give people driving in Germany more and better information about the traffic situation ahead of making journeys.
Available on Google Play and the App Store to download on mobile phones as of July 20, the new Meine Autobahn app bundles together traffic and infrastructure information, as well as other data relating to the German autobahn, in one application.
Concretely, the app utilises hundreds of webcams to provide live feeds, so that users can get a picture of the situation on the roads before heading off on their journeys. Drivers should also get information about traffic jams, diversions, accidents and construction sites. The app will be the first to receive such relevant information - before, for instance, Google Maps.
It will also show where and what type of charging stations there are for electric cars and where to find parking and rest areas. Truck drivers can find car park data, as well as information on where they can find showers, shops and internet. In future, the app will also be developed so that drivers can find out ahead of time if roadworks are planned along their route.
Importantly, however, the app will not offer route guidance. “The Autobahn app is not a navigation app and therefore does not compete with established navigation providers,” Autobahn GmbH stated in a paper. Instead, the user’s planned route can be transferred from the Autobahn App to their preferred navigation app - either Apple Maps or Google Maps.
Until the end of 2020, Germany’s federal states were responsible for the operation, maintenance and expansion of the motorways. The federal government took over responsibility at the beginning of 2021, with the aim of increasing the speed of expansion and reducing congestion.