They are improving your life in exchange for information about you and the places you visit. Their product is closed, the proprietary data is not accessible outside their apps, or if they wish to license it.
OpenStreetMap is improving the world.
OpenStreetMap is improving the world.
Some people think that this risk is unbearable. Others weigh the economic realities and make a case-by-case judgement. The simple truth is that it costs money to host a good tool that's always on, doesn't lose people's data, that keeps up with changes in technology and requirements.
They may not be doing it to the extent of your liking, but they are certainly are improving it (if only for the people who choose to use their service).
So they are improving the world and for free. I'm glad we all agree
Not to mention that realtime traffic data and intelligent routing around congestion is only workable by tracking individual vehicles on the road and recording how long it takes them to get from A to B.
Wrong. There is a better solution, used for traffic lights that adapt to traffic:
Use an inductive loop to count every vehicle and its speed at ever lane of every intersection and exit.
Far lower cost yet, and provides far better data. (Also is totally anonymous)
Um, what? Lower cost to dig up a street and install infrastructure inside it, than to use the cheap and ubiquitous internet and GPS connected computers that are already in every car?
Effectively, you need the infrastructure, most cities on the world have it in some way – either as inductive loops, or by using RFID toll systems, or similar.
So, you have it already, and you can get the same data out of it without the cost of breaking everyone's privacy.
We have am mixed capitalist system of free and publicly funded advancements as well as privately funded advancements.
The internet as it exists today is a demonstrate of that fact, as is the mobile smartphone market. This has obviously improved the lives of billions of people and would not have existed without both private (proprietary) and public contributions.
But then their site and UX are so bad, I always cry when I use it for the lost effort of so many people.
BUT... as technologists / hackers and people with (presumably) a broader vision, I think the onus is on us to prefer and to advocate for services which are "open" or "free" / "libre" (without getting too deeply into the definitions of "open" and/or "free" here).
I would say that it would be wrong to stay that Google Maps doesn't make the world a better place, but I'd also agree with your general sentiment and say let's do all we can to promote OpenStreetMap and the like.
This is not true. Many APIs are available, specifically to allow building 3rd-party apps: Directions API, Distance Matrix API, Elevation API, Geocoding API, and so on. See https://developers.google.com/maps/pricing-and-plans/