In Switzerland, around 1.4 million e-bikes are on the move, often used for long distances. Even occasional riders dare longer tours thanks to battery assistance. A variety of navigation apps are available for selecting the right route. TCS tested a selection of these on a city ride through Bern and a leisure tour around Laupen. The test was based on a not very experienced e-bike rider looking for the safest route to their destination. To measure route safety, street sections were classified (from bike path to main roads without bike infrastructure) and given a safety rating. Other criteria included the app usability and costs.
Apple Maps with Deficiencies in the City
On the city route, apps from providers Bikemap, OsmAnd, Komoot, Google, and Apple were used. Bikemap's app performed the best, mainly because it almost exclusively suggested residential streets and 30 km/h zones. Apple Maps' route was the least convincing, negatively affected by several sections on busy main roads and a stretch where the bike had to be pushed.
SchweizMobil Scores in the Leisure Tour
For the leisure tour test starting and ending in Laupen BE, Apple Maps was not tested as it doesn't allow stops in bike mode and crashed during the trial. Instead, SchweizMobil's app was reviewed and used as a reference. SchweizMobil's route was impressive in the test, achieving the highest rating. Komoot fully adopted SchweizMobil's route, reaching similar scores for safety and usability. Its slight lag behind SchweizMobil was only due to higher costs. Google Maps scored the least because its suggested route hardly followed the official cycle path. However, Google Maps still obtained a 'highly recommended' rating, highlighting the good standard of apps for a leisure tour.
Bikemap as Test Winner
For the overall evaluation, the average scores from both routes were calculated, considering the four apps used in both test rounds. Bikemap emerged on top with a score of 77.65 percent. This app excelled both in city traffic and on the countryside, particularly standing out in safe route selection. OsmAnd with 73.2 percent and Komoot with 70.75 percent followed closely in second and third place. Komoot showed a significant difference between the city route result (60.8 percent) and the leisure tour (80.7 percent). Google Maps lagged in both tests because it lacks criteria specialized for bike traffic and often didn't choose the safest path. Nevertheless, all four navigation apps were rated 'highly recommended', clearly showing that specialized providers perform better than the general map services of large providers.
Press Contact:
Marco Wölfli, Spokesman TCS Tel. 058 827 34 03
marco.woelfli@tcs.ch