A route is a navigable path between a start location, or origin, and an end location, or destination. You can choose to get a route for different modes of transportation, such as walking, biking, or different types of vehicles. You can also request route details such as distance, estimated time to navigate the route, expected tolls, and step-by-step instructions to navigate the route.
You can use a route to help you determine the most efficient routes for dispatch scheduling, such as:
How best to assign a set of workers to pick up a series of packages
The best warehouse from which to ship packages to their final destination
The Routes API provides several options to customize the types of routes and information provided in a route response. These guide topics can help you get started:
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Get a route | Learn how to create a route matrix and what information you want in the response. |
| Available route vehicle types | How to select what type of vehicle the route is for. |
| Waypoint types and options | How to specify the location for waypoints, and options for specifying waypoints in between the origin and destination and how to handle those waypoints. |
| Available traffic options | What traffic options you have, and how to select which to use when calculating a route and estimating travel duration. |
| Available route options | How to customize your route, including optimizing your route waypoints and preferences for route features to avoid, such as tolls or ferries. |
| Review the route response | Review how a route is returned from the Routes API, so you know how to handle the response in your application. |