[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":179},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-\u002Fblog\u002Fproduct-updates-time-zones-and-docs\u002F":3,"related-blog-\u002Fblog\u002Fproduct-updates-time-zones-and-docs\u002F":145},{"id":4,"title":5,"abstract":6,"author":6,"body":7,"description":132,"excerpt":6,"extension":133,"head":6,"image":6,"keywords":134,"meta":137,"modified":6,"navigation":138,"path":139,"proficiencyLevel":6,"published":140,"rawbody":141,"schemaOrg":6,"schemaType":6,"seo":142,"stem":143,"__hash__":144},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fproduct-updates-time-zones-and-docs.md","Announcing Time Zone APIs and a Documentation Refresh",null,{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":121},"minimark",[10,14,24,40,45,48,57,62,68,72,97,109,113],[11,12,5],"h1",{"id":13},"announcing-time-zone-apis-and-a-documentation-refresh",[15,16,17,18,23],"p",{},"We are excited to announce two important product updates today. Following a period of closed beta testing, we are\nofficially releasing our ",[19,20,22],"a",{"href":21},"\u002Fproducts\u002Fgeospatial-apis\u002F","time zone API",".",[15,25,26,27,34,35,23],{},"Along with this release, we’ve given our ",[19,28,33],{"href":29,"rel":30,"target":32},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com",[31],"external","_blank","developer documentation","\nlong-overdue facelift and added an exhaustive ",[19,36,39],{"href":37,"rel":38,"target":32},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Fapi-reference\u002F",[31],"API reference",[41,42,44],"h2",{"id":43},"time-zone-api","Time Zone API",[15,46,47],{},"Build time zone aware applications with our new Time Zone APIs! Whether you need to determine the local time\nzone of an event or plan a round-the-world trip, our new Time Zone APIs give\nyou the simple tools needed to make your app a little bit smarter.",[15,49,50,51,56],{},"Our newest API enhances your applications with time zone information for any point on earth. You supply the\ncoordinates, and we provide the time zone in a few useful formats, including the canonical time zone identifier\nand UTC offset information. In addition to the standard UTC offset, the time zone API provides any special\noffsets, such as if daylight saving or summer time is in effect. You can also specify an effective timestamp to\nretrieve the UTC offsets at a point in the past or future. Check out the\n",[19,52,55],{"href":53,"rel":54,"target":32},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Ftz\u002F",[31],"documentation"," for the full details.",[58,59,61],"h3",{"id":60},"get-stated-with-the-time-zone-api","Get Stated with the Time Zone API",[15,63,64,65,23],{},"We can’t wait to see what you build with our new Time Zone API. To get you started, we’ve written up a fresh\nPython tutorial in our ",[19,66,55],{"href":53,"rel":67,"target":32},[31],[41,69,71],{"id":70},"documentation-refresh","Documentation Refresh",[15,73,74,75,80,81,86,87,91,92,96],{},"Speaking of docs, we recently gave our ",[19,76,79],{"href":77,"rel":78,"target":32},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002F",[31],"docs",".\na long-overdue facelift, in large part thanks to ",[19,82,85],{"href":83,"rel":84,"target":32},"https:\u002F\u002Fsquidfunk.github.io\u002Fmkdocs-material\u002F",[31],"Material for MkDocs","\n(which we now ",[19,88,90],{"href":89,"target":32},"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fsponsors\u002Fsquidfunk","sponsor","). This is a\n",[93,94,95],"em",{},"massive"," upgrade which includes dark mode, better looking code blocks, improved navigation, and more.",[15,98,99,100,103,104,108],{},"We’ve also added a full ",[19,101,39],{"href":37,"rel":102,"target":32},[31]," that makes it easier to see\nall the endpoints we offer, along with comprehensive schema documentation. The new reference is generated from\nan ",[19,105,107],{"href":106,"target":32},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.stadiamaps.com\u002Fopenapi.yaml","OpenAPI specification",",\nwhich we will keep up to date as we add new endpoints. This machine-readable spec\ncan be used to generate an up-to-date API client in any major programming language, and allows us to provide you\nwith the new handy online API explorer.",[41,110,112],{"id":111},"talk-to-us","Talk to us!",[15,114,115,116,120],{},"What else do you want to do with our APIs? We’re always happy to\nhear what else we can do for you or just learn about what\nyou’re working on! You can get in touch via\n",[19,117,119],{"href":118},"mailto:support@stadiamaps.com","email"," or the social links\nbelow.",{"title":122,"searchDepth":123,"depth":123,"links":124},"",4,[125,130,131],{"id":43,"depth":126,"text":44,"children":127},2,[128],{"id":60,"depth":129,"text":61},3,{"id":70,"depth":126,"text":71},{"id":111,"depth":126,"text":112},"Product Update: Time zone API release and a much-needed documentation overhaul.","md",[44,135,136],"Documentation","Product Update",{},true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fproduct-updates-time-zones-and-docs","2022-07-28","---\npublished: 2022-07-28\ndescription: \"Product Update: Time zone API release and a much-needed documentation overhaul.\"\nkeywords:\n  - Time Zone API\n  - Documentation\n  - Product Update\n---\n\n# Announcing Time Zone APIs and a Documentation Refresh\n\nWe are excited to announce two important product updates today. Following a period of closed beta testing, we are\nofficially releasing our [time zone API](\u002Fproducts\u002Fgeospatial-apis\u002F).\n\nAlong with this release, we’ve given our [developer documentation](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com){target=\"_blank\"}\nlong-overdue facelift and added an exhaustive [API reference](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Fapi-reference\u002F){target=\"_blank\"}.\n\n## Time Zone API\nBuild time zone aware applications with our new Time Zone APIs! Whether you need to determine the local time\nzone of an event or plan a round-the-world trip, our new Time Zone APIs give\nyou the simple tools needed to make your app a little bit smarter.\n\nOur newest API enhances your applications with time zone information for any point on earth. You supply the\ncoordinates, and we provide the time zone in a few useful formats, including the canonical time zone identifier\nand UTC offset information. In addition to the standard UTC offset, the time zone API provides any special\noffsets, such as if daylight saving or summer time is in effect. You can also specify an effective timestamp to\nretrieve the UTC offsets at a point in the past or future. Check out the\n[documentation](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Ftz\u002F){target=\"_blank\"} for the full details.\n\n### Get Stated with the Time Zone API\n\nWe can’t wait to see what you build with our new Time Zone API. To get you started, we’ve written up a fresh\nPython tutorial in our [documentation](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Ftz\u002F){target=\"_blank\"}.\n\n## Documentation Refresh\n\nSpeaking of docs, we recently gave our [docs](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002F){target=\"_blank\"}.\na long-overdue facelift, in large part thanks to [Material for MkDocs](https:\u002F\u002Fsquidfunk.github.io\u002Fmkdocs-material\u002F){target=\"_blank\"}\n(which we now \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fsponsors\u002Fsquidfunk\" target=\"_blank\">sponsor\u003C\u002Fa>). This is a\n*massive* upgrade which includes dark mode, better looking code blocks, improved navigation, and more.\n\nWe’ve also added a full [API reference](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Fapi-reference\u002F) that makes it easier to see\nall the endpoints we offer, along with comprehensive schema documentation. The new reference is generated from\nan \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.stadiamaps.com\u002Fopenapi.yaml\" target=\"_blank\">OpenAPI specification\u003C\u002Fa>,\nwhich we will keep up to date as we add new endpoints. This machine-readable spec\ncan be used to generate an up-to-date API client in any major programming language, and allows us to provide you\nwith the new handy online API explorer.\n\n\n## Talk to us!\n\nWhat else do you want to do with our APIs? We’re always happy to\nhear what else we can do for you or just learn about what\nyou’re working on! You can get in touch via\n\u003Ca href=\"mailto:support@stadiamaps.com\">email\u003C\u002Fa> or the social links\nbelow.\n",{"title":5,"description":132},"blog\u002Fproduct-updates-time-zones-and-docs","_EwgbbytPBST6DiTWAg2LbhesXjw0ajPhp1ttT7HlbQ",[146,155,165],{"title":147,"description":148,"path":149,"published":150,"keywords":151,"rawbody":154},"Product Update: Improved Tiles, a New Tier, and Stadia Maps News","Product Update: improved map tiles, a new pricing tier, and more news from about the web.","\u002Fblog\u002Fproduct-updates-improved-tiles-new-tier","2020-07-02",[152,153,136],"Map Tiles","Pricing","---\npublished: 2020-07-02\ndescription: \"Product Update: improved map tiles, a new pricing tier, and more news from about the web.\"\nkeywords:\n  - Map Tiles\n  - Pricing\n  - Product Update\n---\n\n# Product Update: Improved Tiles, a New Tier, and Stadia Maps News\n\nIt’s been a few months since we last updated you on what\nwe’ve been doing around Stadia Maps, and we’ve been able to\naccomplish quite a lot.\n\n## New Tier: Stadia Growth\n\nAfter talking with customers and looking at our pricing, we realized there was a hole between our Starter and Standard\ntiers.\n\nEnter: *Stadia Growth*.\n\nA tier to help you grow, without growing your bills too much. Your $50 \u002F month goes a long way: 75k map views and API\nrequests \u002F day, with all the same great service you’ve learned to count on. Take a look at\nour [pricing page](\u002Fpricing\u002F) to see how it fits in.\n\n## Better Raster Tiles & Static Maps\n\nAt the beginning of this year, we knew our raster tiles had occasional\nedge-case performance issues, some cropped labels, and other minor\nquality concerns. So, starting in January, we began working towards\nfixing these issues.\n\nWe started by directly integrating our raster rendering library into our\ncustom-built tile server (it was previously a separate service). By doing\nthis, we’ve been able to almost completely eliminate our\nworst-case tail performance for raster tiles and static maps. After\nseeing promising results during the initial integration, we began tuning\nthe tile server against production loads, and have been able to eliminate\nmore performance bottlenecks. In terms of numbers, our worst-case raster\ntile rendering performance (the worst 0.1% of tile renders) dropped from\n8s to 2s—or 4x faster. At the same time, the 5% worst-case\nperforming requests improved from 512ms to 256ms—or 2x faster. We\nbelieve we have more progress to make, but this represents a significant\nstep towards eliminating too-slow tile renders.\n\nAs a very nice by-product, we’ve been able to drastically improve\nthe quality of our raster tiles (significantly fewer “cut\nlabels” and much better text layout). We are continuing to focus\non speed and reliability to ensure the best possible raster map\nexperience possible. Stay tuned for more updates regarding quality and\nperformance in the next few months.\n\n## Improved Outdoors Theme\n\nSince our last update, we’ve added the ability to display parks\nand nature reserves over water, sand and rock land cover types to give\nbeaches and mountain ranges more texture, and—a much requested\nfeature—trails and footpaths at lower zoom levels, all so that you can\nenjoy the great outdoors just a little bit more.\n\n## Newer Data, Better Depth\n\nAnother focus this year is to improve our processes for working with OSM\ndata. As a result, we’re on track to release new data each month this\nyear, with an improved schema each time. We’ve also increased the speed\nof our routing data updates, with new data being added every week.\n\nSince January, we’ve added a lot of updates to details of the\ntransportation layer (including the trails and footpaths at higher\nzoom), improved small details to the water and park layers, and improved\nvector tile performance for higher zoom levels (especially in complex\ncityscapes, such as Milan or Tokyo).\n\n## News from Around the Web\n\nOver the last few months, we’ve had the chance to read about how\nsome of our customers are\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedium.com\u002F@onthegomap\u002Fon-the-go-map-style-improvements-d24bfb5836e1\">\n  using Stadia Maps to improve their customers’ experiences\n\u003C\u002Fa>,\nthe opportunity to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tfir.io\u002Fstadia-maps\u002F\">\n  chat with TFIR about how to build better open-source mapping services\n\u003C\u002Fa>, and\nexplore \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linode.com\u002Fspotlight\u002Fstadia-maps\u002F\">\n  how we deliver a quality experience for an affordable price\n\u003C\u002Fa> with our infrastructure provider, Linode.\n\n## What's Next?\n\nIn the next couple of months, we will continue to squash remaining\nperformance and quality issues with raster tiles. We are working to hone\nour data schema to allow for better display of data (specifically more\nupgrades to the road network to eliminate some holes in our data). We\nare also close to deploying a new set of geospatial APIs (a time zone API\nwith historical data), after a few setbacks delivering it to production.\n\n## Missing something? Have comments or concerns?\n\nWe’re always here to help. If you have any questions or concerns about\nour current services or our future roadmap, don’t hesitate to reach out\nto us with any of the channels listed in the footer. Of course, you can\nalways email us, we’ll get back to you lickety-split!\n\nThat’s all for now.\n\nStay well and be kind.\n\n:v:",{"title":156,"description":157,"path":158,"published":159,"keywords":160,"rawbody":164},"Enhanced Documentation and Introducing mkjsfiddle","We've enhanced our documentation with JSFiddle integration and open-sourced the code we used to do it!","\u002Fblog\u002Fenhanced-docs-and-mkjsfiddle","2020-03-04",[135,161,162,163],"JSFiddle","Open Source","Developer Experience","---\nsubtitle: Better examples and an open source library!\npublished: 2020-03-04\ndescription: \"We've enhanced our documentation with JSFiddle integration and open-sourced the code we used to do it!\"\nkeywords:\n  - Documentation\n  - JSFiddle\n  - Open Source\n  - Developer Experience\n---\n\n# Enhanced Documentation and Introducing mkjsfiddle\n\nAt Stadia Maps, we work hard to make your mapping experience easy and painless. A core part of our mission to make\nlocation human is making our docs as accessible as possible for you as a developer. The fewer the hurdles to\ndevelopment, the faster you can deliver solutions to your customers.\n\nExperimenting with code and seeing results instantly is an effective way to learn a new library or framework. If you’re\na frontend developer, there’s a good chance you have already used [JSFiddle](https:\u002F\u002Fjsfiddle.net\u002F) for this a few\ntimes. We did some digging and found that they have\nan [API](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.jsfiddle.net\u002Fapi\u002Fdisplay-a-fiddle-from-post), which lets us generate fiddles from the code\nsegments in our docs, freeing you to focus on what matters. No need to copy the code to your computer, start up a web\nserver, or register an account—just start fiddling!\n\nWe've updated the relevant code snippets in our docs, such as vector and raster map examples, with a nifty button to\nedit the sample right away in JSFiddle. Check it out in action [over here](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Fvector\u002F)!\n\n## Announcing mkjsfiddle\n\nWhile we were building the integration, we looked around for a library that would do it automatically. We\nuse [MkDocs](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mkdocs.org\u002F) for generating our documentation pages from Markdown, and we thought surely\nsomeone would have a plugin for this already. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any, so we wrote one! We think other\nMkDocs-based sites can benefit from JSFiddle integration as well, so\nwe’ve [open-sourced our plugin](https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fstadiamaps\u002Fmkjsfiddle). We hope other projects can use this to make\ntheir docs a little more human.\n\n## Talk to us!\n\nAre our docs helping you easily find the information you need? Wish you could do something more with Stadia Maps? We’re\nalways happy to hear how we can improve! Let us know via [email](mailto:support@stadiamaps.com) or the social links\nbelow.",{"title":166,"description":167,"path":168,"published":169,"keywords":170,"rawbody":178},"Why Basic OpenStreetMap Routing Needs Real-Time Traffic","OpenStreetMap is a world-class road network, but without real-time traffic it's a static dataset. Here's why algorithmic ETAs fall apart in production logistics and how Stadia Maps closes the gap with TomTom-powered routing.","\u002Fblog\u002Fwhy-osm-routing-needs-real-time-traffic","2026-05-12",[171,172,173,174,175,176,177],"Routing","Navigation","OpenStreetMap","Traffic Data","Matrix Routing","Logistics","TomTom","---\ndescription: >-\n  OpenStreetMap is a world-class road network, but without real-time traffic\n  it's a static dataset. Here's why algorithmic ETAs fall apart in production\n  logistics and how Stadia Maps closes the gap with TomTom-powered routing.\nexcerpt: >-\n  OpenStreetMap is great geography, but without real-time traffic it falls\n  short on ETAs. Stadia Maps closes the gap with TomTom-powered routing.\npublished: \"2026-05-12\"\nkeywords:\n  - Routing\n  - Navigation\n  - OpenStreetMap\n  - Traffic Data\n  - Matrix Routing\n  - Logistics\n  - TomTom\nauthor:\n  name: \"Ian Wagner\"\n  jobTitle: \"Founder & President \u002F COO\"\n  sameAs:\n    - \"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fin\u002Fian-w-wagner\u002F\"\n---\n\n# Why Basic OpenStreetMap Routing Needs Real-Time Traffic\n\n> OpenStreetMap (OSM) provides a world-class geographic foundation, but it remains a static dataset. Without real-time traffic integration, routing engines must rely on algorithmic proxies—like road class and legal speed limits—which often lead to unreliable ETAs and logistics bottlenecks.\n\n## The Problem\n\n[OpenStreetMap (OSM)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.openstreetmap.org\u002Fabout) is one of the world's leading road maps, but a persistent gap remains between fixed geographic data and a [live navigation experience](\u002Fproducts\u002Frouting-navigation\u002F). Without dedicated traffic data, Estimated Times of Arrival (ETAs) are essentially educated guesses. While OSM is excellent at mapping the world's road network, a static dataset cannot capture the actual driving conditions at this exact moment. In enterprise-grade logistics, the lack of live data is often the first significant technical hurdle.\n\n## The Limits of Algorithmic Guesswork\n\nIn the absence of real-time data, a routing engine must estimate travel speeds based on tags and a few common proxies:\n\n- **Road Class:** Assuming a motorway is always faster than a residential street.\n- **Tagged Speed Limits:** Using the legal maximum as the baseline (when the tag even exists).\n- **Network Density:** Adjusting for urban vs. rural environments.\n- **Time of Day:** Using low-granularity buckets like \"daytime\" and \"nighttime.\"\n\nReal-world data show wild variances compared to these static estimates. Road class is a blunt instrument for predicting speed. Missing speed limit tags in open datasets force routing engines to rely on broad averages, resulting in unreliable ETAs and logistics delays. Rule-based algorithms are also notoriously bad at predicting choke points because open datasets don't account for traffic light timings, congestion near specific exits, or the \"invisible\" friction of a busy intersection.\n\n## The Stadia Maps Difference\n\nTo move from guesswork to precision, we integrated [TomTom's global traffic data](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tomtom.com\u002Fproducts\u002Ftraffic-apis\u002F) directly into the [Stadia Maps routing engine](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Frouting\u002F). High-resolution historical profiles and live feeds allow for accurate, real-time routing. We provide this through three key technical pillars:\n\n1. **Global Coverage:** Access to consistent data across more countries than almost any other vendor.\n2. **Rapid Updates:** A traffic latency of approximately two minutes allows our API to suggest alternate routes almost as soon as a wreck occurs.\n3. **Historical Profiles:** Deep granularity forms the backbone of predictive routing. High-resolution historical data enables accurate, time-dependent routing in advance, allowing you to plan a route for Tuesday at 8:00 AM based on what might happen on Tuesdays at 8:00 AM.\n\n## Fleet Intelligence at Scale\n\nFor dispatch, optimization, and fleet operations, [matrix routing](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Frouting\u002Ftime-distance-matrix\u002F) (calculating the time and distance between many origins and destinations) is the engine's most critical function.\n\nThe Stadia Maps infrastructure supports matrix requests that are significantly larger than most competitors allow on standard plans. By integrating traffic data directly into these large-scale requests, we eliminate the need for developers to split requests into smaller chunks, reducing unnecessary complexity and latency.\n\nDevelopers maintain full agency over their implementation. We provide the fastest route based on live conditions, but the frequency of re-routing remains entirely in your control. Choice of revalidation frequency puts you in charge of the trade-off between real-time accuracy and [scaling costs](\u002Fpricing\u002F), ensuring your bills remain as predictable as your ETAs.\n\n---\n\n[Create a free account](https:\u002F\u002Fclient.stadiamaps.com\u002Fsignup\u002F) to start building with real-time traffic and high-performance routing today. Our [documentation](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.stadiamaps.com\u002Frouting\u002F) provides everything you need to integrate TomTom-powered precision into your existing OSM workflow.\n",1778676027648]