Improving on the first version of trip planner, we are releasing Trip Planner v2 with some improvements to routing and new features.
You can now plan a round trip with Grid point suggestions along the way. Currently the feature is available only in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.
Round trip estimation helps you check and plan which Ather Grid point to charge up at, to optimize for the shortest roundtrip by time.
If you’re interested in trying it out and sharing feedback, use the links below to opt in to the beta:
How is the trip meter calculating my charge level? Is it based on preset range?
Also, I think the trip planner should show me charging stops for my return, which isn’t showing up currently. Maybe a glitch? Shows one way trip as possible, but when I switch on Return Trip, it says ‘Please check if one way trip is feasible’
What does ‘Route suggestion is personalised for your riding style’ mean? How is the personalisation being done?
Actually I got to use this feature yesterday itself (since I am already in test flight and auto update enabl d) and I thought it is already part of trip planner.
This is quite helpful really in planning my trip. The best thing I observed is if we have required charge it will suggest the best route.
Observation: If the charge is not sufficient for two-way trip (I mean one way possible but return not possible scenario) The charging suggestion is bieng showed in onward journey route. Rather it could be on return journey.
So this is the thing I observed this is not rerouting us through a nearest cheging point but rather suggesting only if there is a charger en-route.
Example: I have 8km range in my vehicle where in I have to travel 10km. Now trip planner is not showing any reroute because there is no charger in the route I have to travel.
But I have charging station 1.7km away from me which has available chargers and also 2.9km away from my place magneta hosur road is there but still no reroute @abhishek.balaji please pass on this feedback to team.
This is important
It says ’ please check if one way trip is feasible’ why should i check, the app should only show suggestions for charging and also show grid suggestions while returning back, it’s not doing both.
Thanks for the feedback about the feature! It really helps us not only remove bugs but also iron out experience to make the overall feature seamless and intuitive to use (Which is a WIP always)
I just wanted to clarify some of the queries pertaining to the response you got from the Trip Planner as well as a look under the hood about the algorithm operates.
The starting SOC is always the current SOC of your scooter. Regarding the range, the algorithm takes a custom value for every scooter based on the range of the past 3 months of your rides. This is done primarily because we do not wish for you, the user to consciously modify the way you ride your scooter from how you generally ride. This is also why we put in the disclaimer that the “Route suggestion is personalized for your riding style”.
You’re right in pointing out that the algorithm might not be recommending a Grid Point on the return route. Solving the return use-case is quite complicated as the number of uncertain variables is quite high including but not limited to how long the user might stay at the destination. Because of this risk of uncertainty, the algorithm would err on the side of caution and prefer to not recommend a route rather than recommend a route which would put the user at risk of being stuck somewhere without charge.
That being said, the algorithm takes in all these inputs to understand how it can learn to be less risk averse and take more calculated decisions in recommending grid points, either on the onward or return journey.
Thanks so much for your feedback! Looking forward to your experiences on how Trip Planner evolves to your daily use cases as well!
Thanks so much for your feedback! I think I’ve answered your question as a response to an earlier user’s comment as well. Please let me know if that answers your query.
I think I’ve answered to the round trip query as a part of another user’s response. Please do check that and let me know if it answers your question.
Pertaining to the one-way recommendation - Could you please DM me a couple of details including a scooter identifier (ID/VIN/Reg) as well as the approximate time you made the search. There are a few reasons why there might be grid points visible en-route but not recommended including:
Calculated SOC at grid point being too low to safely recommend the grid
If the grid point is on the opposite side of direction of travel, the directions API we use might have a round-about way of reaching the physical location increasing distance
The grid might have been unavailable at the time of search (Very remote)
We’re working to improve the accuracy, relevance and practicality of the recommendation from the Trip Planner and these feedback really help us iron out edge cases. Thank You!
Got your point on return logic but when we have less SoC for onward journey it self this feature is not suggesting any nearby charging point. Or if the grid is on opposite direction it is not suggesting.
I understand the complexity of the logic to find the nearby location and reroute it through that but without that there is no meaning in providing a suggestion.
As we are any way reaching the grid point which Ather doesn’t suggest.
Also going to that grid is true incase of a person who is aware of that grid otherwise for someone who is new to that location he is done.
Secondly if the grid is occupied trip planner is not suggesting but it has to suggest the route irrespective of occupied or not occupied(green or gray). Only exception is if the grid is not working (red).
In the screenshot above, it would be great if I was shown
the charge level once I reach the charging station, and also
the amount of time I need to leave it plugged in (to reach 99%), at the Sai Menaka charging point.
This will allow me to plan for the ride & know if I have enough time for a coffee or a full meal before I continue my journey.
Also, I hope adding multiple trips to my journey like Google maps and getting charging suggestions on my route will be available at some point in the future. Thanks!
PS. Not sure if the range shown/battery percent is personalised for my riding style yet.
Since I couldn’t get the new trip planner to reflect on my Ather app, I went ahead and uninstalled and reinstalled the app. And now, I am unable to route to any location I enter. It simply does not show me any route option, but rather just the map.
Have already tried reinstalling, but neither has the new trip planner come up, nor does the app anymore route to any location, apart from the Grid points(when I tap on them).
