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  "path": "/2026/04/02/google-maps-update-shows-late-bus-going-27827919/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-02T17:09:31.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
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    "Tech",
    "Department for Transport",
    "England",
    "Google",
    "Google Maps",
    "London",
    "Travel News",
    "passenger numbers falling",
    "Warning over closure at major London train station during Easter",
    "'I've banned kids from my pub - why should parents let them run riot unsupervised?'",
    "Two men arrested over 'arson attack' on Jewish ambulances released on bail",
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  "textContent": "The bus tracker tool is now live on Google Maps (Picture: Getty/Metro)\n\nThe pesky wait for a bus could be a little less uncertain after Google Maps launched a new tracking feature.\n\nIf you have ever relied on a bus outside a city or town, you know how grinding the wait can be, with buses often being cancelled seemingly without a reason, one after another.\n\nIn London, the situation is not much better, with average bus speeds, routes and passenger numbers falling.\n\nNow, bus travel is set to become less uncertain thanks to a new Google Maps live tracker option announced today.\n\nIt allows passengers to track every vehicle anywhere in England, including outside London.\n\nThe bus tracker will show the live buses on a selected route when you search a public transport journey between destinations on Google Maps (click to zoom) (Picture: Google)\n\nThe bus tracker works like those on ride-hailing or food delivery apps, allowing people to follow the bus’s journey in real time to see how close it is to the stop.\n\nThe tracker, which started today as part of a Department for Transport and Google initiative, is set to end ‘guessing’ when buses will turn up, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.\n\nWhile the option has been available on some other apps before, this is the first time Google Maps, which has millions of daily users in the UK, has brought it to its platform.\n\nThe bus tracker could help despairing passengers, including in London where bus speeds have fallen (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nThe Transport Secretary said: ‘Passengers should not be left guessing when their bus will turn up, no matter where they live. Working with Google, we’re bringing real time bus tracking to more parts of England for the first time.\n\n‘Passengers will know exactly where their bus is and when it will arrive, so they can leave home at the right moment rather than standing at a stop and hoping.\n\n‘This is a step towards a more joined-up transport network fit for the modern day, whether you’re in a city centre or a rural village.’\n\n##  Latest London news\n\n  * Warning over closure at major London train station during Easter\n  * 'I've banned kids from my pub - why should parents let them run riot unsupervised?'\n  * Two men arrested over 'arson attack' on Jewish ambulances released on bail\n\n\n\n_**To get the latest news from the capital, visit Metro's**  London news hub._\n\nSarah-Jayne Williams, Director of Geo Partnerships at Google Maps, said the tech giant is giving ‘millions of passengers the confidence to plan their journeys accurately’ by integrating real-time bus information in England.\n\nWhile Londoners have been blessed with the TfL live bus departure information boards, the situation is more bleak in rural and semi-rural areas with shrinking bus services.\n\n##  How many buses arrived on time?\n\nIn London, snarling bus speeds are giving passengers grey hair.\n\nSpeeds in the capital have dropped to an average of 9.17mph in 2024-25, down from 10.27mph four years earlier, the latest City Hall data shows.\n\nGovernment figures show that around 80% of non-frequent buses in England ran on time in the year ending March 2025.\n\nHowever, bus punctuality varied more when zooming in on different local authorities, with between 61% and 98% of buses running on time.\n\nPOLL\n\nPoll\n\n### Will the new Google Maps bus tracker make your travel better?\n\n  * YesCheck\n\n  * NoCheck\n\n\n\n\nMeanwhile, the government has blocked bus companies from increasing their ticket prices until next year.\n\nA £3 national bus fare cap will be in place on single fares in England outside London until March 2027, replacing the earlier £2 cap.\n\nIn London, bus fares are frozen until July 5, 2026, with the pay as you go fare costing £1.75 for an adult, which allows unlimited bus journeys for one hour from the first tap.\n\n**How does the bus tracker help you? Let us know by emailing noora.mykkanen@metro.co.uk**\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,** check our news page.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Google Maps update shows you how late your bus is going to be"
}