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gmapsdistance

Interface Between R and Google Maps

The function gmapsdistance uses the Google Maps Distance Matrix API to compute the distance(s) and time(s) between two points or two vectors of points. An API key is not necessary to perform the query but the function supports its usage. If an API key is being used the Distance Matrix API should be enabled in the Google Developers Console. Google maps must be able to find both the origin and the destination in order for the function to run. If the origin or destination contains multiple words, they should be separated by a plus sign (+). The distance is returned in meters and the time in seconds.

Four different modes of transportation are allowed: bicycling, walking, driving, transit.

Installation

# CRAN install.  
install.packages("gmapsdistance")

# Github installation
# install.packages("devtools")
# devtools::install_github("rodazuero/gmapsdistance")

Example 1

In this example we will compute the driving distance between Washington DC, and New York City. The code returns the Time, the Distance and the Status of the query (OK if it was successful).

results = gmapsdistance(origin = "Washington+DC", 
                        destination = "New+York+City+NY", 
                        mode = "driving")
results
# $Time
# [1] 13600
# 
# $Distance
# [1] 361713
# 
# $Status
# [1] "OK"

Example 2

In this example we will compute the driving distance between the Greek cities of Marathon and Athens. We show that the function is able to handle LAT-LONG coordinates.

results = gmapsdistance(origin = "38.1621328+24.0029257",
                        destination = "37.9908372+23.7383394",
                        mode = "walking")
results
# $Time
# [1] 30025
# 
# $Distance
# [1] 39507
# 
# $Status
# [1] "OK"

Example 3

This example computes the travel distance and time matrices between two vectors of cities at a specific departure time

results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington+DC", "New+York+NY", "Seattle+WA", "Miami+FL"), 
                        destination = c("Los+Angeles+CA", "Austin+TX", "Chicago+IL", "Philadelphia+PA"), 
                        mode = "bicycling", 
                        departure = 1514742000)
results
# $Time
#              or Time.Los+Angeles+CA Time.Austin+TX Time.Chicago+IL Time.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC              856621         535146          247765                54430
# 2   New+York+NY              917486         596011          308630                32215
# 3    Seattle+WA              374692         678959          674989               956702
# 4      Miami+FL              829039         416667          452035               411283
# 
# $Distance
#              or Distance.Los+Angeles+CA Distance.Austin+TX Distance.Chicago+IL Distance.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC                 4567470            2838519             1303067                   266508
# 2   New+York+NY                 4855086            3126136             1590684                   160917
# 3    Seattle+WA                 1982354            3562970             3588297                  5051951
# 4      Miami+FL                 4559205            2279966             2381610                  2169382
# 
# $Status
#              or status.Los+Angeles+CA status.Austin+TX status.Chicago+IL status.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 2   New+York+NY                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 3    Seattle+WA                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 4      Miami+FL                    OK               OK                OK                     OK

# Equivalently 
results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington+DC", "New+York+NY", "Seattle+WA", "Miami+FL"), 
                        destination = c("Los+Angeles+CA", "Austin+TX", "Chicago+IL", "Philadelphia+PA"), 
                        mode = "bicycling", 
                        dep_date = "2022-08-16", 
                        dep_time = "20:40:00")

results
# $Time
#              or Time.Los+Angeles+CA Time.Austin+TX Time.Chicago+IL Time.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC              856621         535146          247765                54430
# 2   New+York+NY              917486         596011          308630                32215
# 3    Seattle+WA              374692         678959          674989               956702
# 4      Miami+FL              829039         416667          452035               411283
# 
# $Distance
#              or Distance.Los+Angeles+CA Distance.Austin+TX Distance.Chicago+IL Distance.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC                 4567470            2838519             1303067                   266508
# 2   New+York+NY                 4855086            3126136             1590684                   160917
# 3    Seattle+WA                 1982354            3562970             3588297                  5051951
# 4      Miami+FL                 4559205            2279966             2381610                  2169382
# 
# $Status
#              or status.Los+Angeles+CA status.Austin+TX status.Chicago+IL status.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 2   New+York+NY                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 3    Seattle+WA                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 4      Miami+FL                    OK               OK                OK                     OK

Example 4

This example computes the travel distance and time matrices between two vectors of cities and return the results in long format

origin = c("Washington+DC", "New+York+NY", "Seattle+WA", "Miami+FL")
destination = c("Los+Angeles+CA", "Austin+TX", "Chicago+IL")

results = gmapsdistance(origin, destination, mode = "driving", shape = "long")

results
# $Time
#               or             de   Time
# 1  Washington+DC Los+Angeles+CA 137727
# 2    New+York+NY Los+Angeles+CA 144653
# 3     Seattle+WA Los+Angeles+CA  60913
# 4       Miami+FL Los+Angeles+CA 137344
# 5  Washington+DC      Austin+TX  79783
# 6    New+York+NY      Austin+TX  91593
# 7     Seattle+WA      Austin+TX 115428
# 8       Miami+FL      Austin+TX  68841
# 9  Washington+DC     Chicago+IL  38523
# 10   New+York+NY     Chicago+IL  43268
# 11    Seattle+WA     Chicago+IL 106111
# 12      Miami+FL     Chicago+IL  71280
# 
# $Distance
#               or             de Distance
# 1  Washington+DC Los+Angeles+CA  4295212
# 2    New+York+NY Los+Angeles+CA  4493003
# 3     Seattle+WA Los+Angeles+CA  1829511
# 4       Miami+FL Los+Angeles+CA  4397978
# 5  Washington+DC      Austin+TX  2452391
# 6    New+York+NY      Austin+TX  2803734
# 7     Seattle+WA      Austin+TX  3412576
# 8       Miami+FL      Austin+TX  2175962
# 9  Washington+DC     Chicago+IL  1123788
# 10   New+York+NY     Chicago+IL  1270086
# 11    Seattle+WA     Chicago+IL  3321732
# 12      Miami+FL     Chicago+IL  2219991
# 
# $Status
# [1] "OK"

Example 5

This example computes the travel distance and time between two vectors of cities. This example shows that the function is able to handle LAT-LONG coordinates and a Google Maps API Key

#set.api.key("Your Google Maps API Key")

origin = c("40.431478+-80.0505401", "33.7678359+-84.4906438")
destination = c("43.0995629+-79.0437609", "41.7096483+-86.9093986")

results = gmapsdistance(origin, destination, mode="bicycling", shape="long")

results
# $Time
#                       or                     de   Time
# 1  40.431478+-80.0505401 43.0995629+-79.0437609  85140
# 2 33.7678359+-84.4906438 43.0995629+-79.0437609 326680
# 3  40.431478+-80.0505401 41.7096483+-86.9093986 130073
# 4 33.7678359+-84.4906438 41.7096483+-86.9093986 228792
# 
# $Distance
#                       or                     de Distance
# 1  40.431478+-80.0505401 43.0995629+-79.0437609   440075
# 2 33.7678359+-84.4906438 43.0995629+-79.0437609  1611588
# 3  40.431478+-80.0505401 41.7096483+-86.9093986   688508
# 4 33.7678359+-84.4906438 41.7096483+-86.9093986  1135876
# 
# $Status
# [1] "OK"

Example 6

This example computes the travel distance and time between two vectors of cities using the 'combinations' option.

# 1. Pairwise 

or = c("Washington+DC", "New+York+NY", "Seattle+WA", "Miami+FL")
des = c("Los+Angeles+CA", "Austin+TX", "Chicago+IL", "Philadelphia+PA")

results = gmapsdistance(origin = or, destination = des, mode = "bicycling", combinations = "pairwise")
results
# $Time
#              or              de   Time
# 1 Washington+DC  Los+Angeles+CA 856621
# 2   New+York+NY       Austin+TX 596011
# 3    Seattle+WA      Chicago+IL 674989
# 4      Miami+FL Philadelphia+PA 411283
# 
# $Distance
#              or              de Distance
# 1 Washington+DC  Los+Angeles+CA  4567470
# 2   New+York+NY       Austin+TX  3126136
# 3    Seattle+WA      Chicago+IL  3588297
# 4      Miami+FL Philadelphia+PA  2169382
# 
# $Status
#              or              de status
# 1 Washington+DC  Los+Angeles+CA     OK
# 2   New+York+NY       Austin+TX     OK
# 3    Seattle+WA      Chicago+IL     OK
# 4      Miami+FL Philadelphia+PA     OK

# 2. All combinations of origins and destinations in wide format 
results = gmapsdistance(origin = or, destination = des, mode = "bicycling", combinations = "all", shape = "wide")
results
# $Time
#              or Time.Los+Angeles+CA Time.Austin+TX Time.Chicago+IL Time.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC              856621         535146          247765                54430
# 2   New+York+NY              917486         596011          308630                32215
# 3    Seattle+WA              374692         678959          674989               956702
# 4      Miami+FL              829039         416667          452035               411283
# 
# $Distance
#              or Distance.Los+Angeles+CA Distance.Austin+TX Distance.Chicago+IL Distance.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC                 4567470            2838519             1303067                   266508
# 2   New+York+NY                 4855086            3126136             1590684                   160917
# 3    Seattle+WA                 1982354            3562970             3588297                  5051951
# 4      Miami+FL                 4559205            2279966             2381610                  2169382
# 
# $Status
#              or status.Los+Angeles+CA status.Austin+TX status.Chicago+IL status.Philadelphia+PA
# 1 Washington+DC                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 2   New+York+NY                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 3    Seattle+WA                    OK               OK                OK                     OK
# 4      Miami+FL                    OK               OK                OK                     OK

results = gmapsdistance(origin = or, destination = des, mode = "bicycling", combinations = "all", shape = "long")
results
# $Time
#               or              de   Time
# 1  Washington+DC  Los+Angeles+CA 856621
# 2    New+York+NY  Los+Angeles+CA 917486
# 3     Seattle+WA  Los+Angeles+CA 374692
# 4       Miami+FL  Los+Angeles+CA 829039
# 5  Washington+DC       Austin+TX 535146
# 6    New+York+NY       Austin+TX 596011
# 7     Seattle+WA       Austin+TX 678959
# 8       Miami+FL       Austin+TX 416667
# 9  Washington+DC      Chicago+IL 247765
# 10   New+York+NY      Chicago+IL 308630
# 11    Seattle+WA      Chicago+IL 674989
# 12      Miami+FL      Chicago+IL 452035
# 13 Washington+DC Philadelphia+PA  54430
# 14   New+York+NY Philadelphia+PA  32215
# 15    Seattle+WA Philadelphia+PA 956702
# 16      Miami+FL Philadelphia+PA 411283
# 
# $Distance
#               or              de Distance
# 1  Washington+DC  Los+Angeles+CA  4567470
# 2    New+York+NY  Los+Angeles+CA  4855086
# 3     Seattle+WA  Los+Angeles+CA  1982354
# 4       Miami+FL  Los+Angeles+CA  4559205
# 5  Washington+DC       Austin+TX  2838519
# 6    New+York+NY       Austin+TX  3126136
# 7     Seattle+WA       Austin+TX  3562970
# 8       Miami+FL       Austin+TX  2279966
# 9  Washington+DC      Chicago+IL  1303067
# 10   New+York+NY      Chicago+IL  1590684
# 11    Seattle+WA      Chicago+IL  3588297
# 12      Miami+FL      Chicago+IL  2381610
# 13 Washington+DC Philadelphia+PA   266508
# 14   New+York+NY Philadelphia+PA   160917
# 15    Seattle+WA Philadelphia+PA  5051951
# 16      Miami+FL Philadelphia+PA  2169382
# 
# $Status
#               or              de status
# 1  Washington+DC  Los+Angeles+CA     OK
# 2    New+York+NY  Los+Angeles+CA     OK
# 3     Seattle+WA  Los+Angeles+CA     OK
# 4       Miami+FL  Los+Angeles+CA     OK
# 5  Washington+DC       Austin+TX     OK
# 6    New+York+NY       Austin+TX     OK
# 7     Seattle+WA       Austin+TX     OK
# 8       Miami+FL       Austin+TX     OK
# 9  Washington+DC      Chicago+IL     OK
# 10   New+York+NY      Chicago+IL     OK
# 11    Seattle+WA      Chicago+IL     OK
# 12      Miami+FL      Chicago+IL     OK
# 13 Washington+DC Philadelphia+PA     OK
# 14   New+York+NY Philadelphia+PA     OK
# 15    Seattle+WA Philadelphia+PA     OK
# 16      Miami+FL Philadelphia+PA     OK

Example 7

This example computes the travel distance and time between two vectors of cities. This example shows that the function is able to handle LAT-LONG coordinates and a Google Maps API Key

# 
# Time and distance using a 'pessimistic' traffic model. ONLY works with a Google Maps API key
# 
# results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington+DC", "New+York+NY"), 
#                         destination = c("Los+Angeles+CA", "Austin+TX"), 
#                         mode = "driving", 
#                         departure = 1514742000,
#                         traffic_model = "pessimistic", 
#                         shape = "long",
#                         key=APIkey)
# 
# results
# $Time
#             or             de   Time
# 1 Washington+DC Los+Angeles+CA 150785
# 2   New+York+NY Los+Angeles+CA 160471
# 3 Washington+DC      Austin+TX  87289
# 4   New+York+NY      Austin+TX 102781
# 
# $Distance
#             or             de Distance
# 1 Washington+DC Los+Angeles+CA  4295212
# 2   New+York+NY Los+Angeles+CA  4489460
# 3 Washington+DC      Austin+TX  2452391
# 4   New+York+NY      Austin+TX  2803691
# 
# $Status
#             or             de status
# 1 Washington+DC Los+Angeles+CA     OK
# 2   New+York+NY Los+Angeles+CA     OK
# 3 Washington+DC      Austin+TX     OK
# 4   New+York+NY      Austin+TX     OK

# 
# Time and distance avoiding 'tolls'. ONLY works with a Google Maps API key
# 
# results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington+DC", "New+York+NY"), 
#                         destination = c("Los+Angeles+CA", "Austin+TX"), 
#                         mode = "driving", 
#                         avoid = "tolls",
#                         key=APIkey)
# 
# results
# 
# $Time
#               or Time.Los+Angeles+CA Time.Austin+TX
# 1 Washington+DC              142794          84658
# 2   New+York+NY              153684          95622
# 
# $Distance
#               or Distance.Los+Angeles+CA Distance.Austin+TX
# 1 Washington+DC                 4298169            2455348
# 2   New+York+NY                 4557011            2800556
# 
# $Status
#               or status.Los+Angeles+CA status.Austin+TX
# 1 Washington+DC                    OK               OK
# 2   New+York+NY                    OK               OK

Google Maps API Key

You can use a Google Maps API Key (which allows you to make a larger volume of calls) by adding your key to the package environment:

#set.api.key("your-google-maps-api-key")

Usage limits

There are a set of limits to the number of calls that can be done. These limits are established by the Google Maps Distance Matrix API Currently, in the free version the limits are given by:

  1. 2,500 free elements per day, calculated as the sum of client-side and server-side queries.
  2. Maximum of 25 origins or 25 destinations per request.
  3. 100 elements per request.
  4. 100 elements per second, calculated as the sum of client-side and server-side queries.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0

Version 3.3 available in CRAN repository

How to contribute

We encourage any kind of suggestions to improve the quality of this code. You can submit pull requests indicating clearly what is the purpose of the change and why we should accept such pull request. Although not necessary, we encourage you to verify that your suggestions are in accordance with the general guidelines established in the CRAN repository by running the R CMD check command. More information about this is available in this link..

Code of conduct

Please see the file CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md for the Code of Conduct for the Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct.

Authors

This code was developed originally by Rodrigo Azuero and David Zarruk..

It is currently maintained by Rodrigo Azuero and Demetrio Rodriguez demetrio.rodriguez.t@gmail.com.

AUTHORS.md have a list of everyone who have contributed to gmapsdistance.

Where has gmapsdistance be used

We like to keep track of the projects where gmapsdistance has been used. This will help us identify how to better improve the code. Let us know if you use gmapsditance! Below you will find links to some of the projects and some of the references to gmapsdistance that we have found.

  1. Proximity to pediatric cardiac specialty care for adolescents with congenital heart defects. Link to article.

  2. Measuring Accessibility to Rail Transit Stations in Scarborough: Subway vs. LRT. Link to article

  3. Social Data Science Course. University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Link

  4. R-bloggers. The collaborative innovation landscape in data science. Link

  5. DataHubss. Google maps and R. Link. This blog entry refers to gmapsdistance as the best package in to use Google Maps in R.

  6. Exegetic - Data Science on Demand. A review of gmapsdistance. Link

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Version

Install

install.packages('gmapsdistance')

Monthly Downloads

553

Version

3.4

License

GPL (>= 2)

Issues

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Stars

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Last Published

August 28th, 2018

Functions in gmapsdistance (3.4)

get.api.key

Get the Google Maps API key
set.api.key

Set the Google Maps API key
pkg.env

Define package environment
gmapsdistance

gmapsdistance