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Related to this question about submitting road data to google maps. I'm curious to know if there is any way to get Google started on cycling data in my city. There are a lot of cyclists in my city, but as it is located outside of the US, it will probably take some time before cycling directions show up on Google Maps.
It does seem to be possible to use the "report a problem" feature of maps to add new route data. But what can I do if there is no cycling data to begin with?
Have a look at http://www.opencyclemap.org/ it uses the http://www.openstreetmap.org/ data, so you can help them by mapping your local cycle ways.
You can now participate in updating Google Maps to the point of adding streets and updating information, using Google Map Maker. While there is community bureaucracy to learn, you can now indeed participate directly.
The "report a problem" feature can be used to suggest minor corrections. Once I tried getting bike directions and they gave me a very indirect route. I reported the problem and they fixed it within a few days.
For larger amounts of data, you may have some luck with Google's Base Map Partner Program. It can be used to send them data in standardized formats such as KML or CSV. They claim to be currently accepting "bicycle and pedestrian paths", among other things. I haven't tried it myself. If I ever try it, I will report on the results here.
If you are in the UK, use CycleStreets. It's a free journey-planning website designed specifically for cycling, so it can route you across off-road cycle tracks and bridges, and it gives you a choice of faster routes for more confident cyclists, and quieter routes if you want to avoid traffic. As well as the main and a mobile website, they have free apps for iPhone and Android. They use OpenStreetMap data (as other people have mentioned) as the source for the routing, so they have the same property that you can fix dodgy routes yourself, and add new links straight away.
In my area, a new foot and cycle bridge was built more than five years ago. It's still not visible on Google Maps, so not available for their walking directions, but it was added to OpenStreetMap the day it was opened.
Sorry if you're not in the UK, as it's currently UK only: as a not-for-profit they can't yet afford the server capacity to route in other countries too.
