The street that my mum lives in is a one-way street, but wasn't marked as such on #Google Maps. This caused many drivers to drive the wrong way. I have tried to edit it on Google Maps (there is such functionality), but to no avail. No matter how often I submitted a change (with photos of street signs!), Google said "Sorry, we could not verify it".
Solution: Edit the street on #OpenStreetMap! A few months after I did this, Google seems to have stolen the data, as it regularly does, and now the street is correct in both datasets!
As the data is Open, then I think google are free to use the data, if doing so results in better information overall on their maps then that is a good thing.
If data is wrong on OSM but correct on Google Maps then surely it works the other way round too.
End game should be to build accurate maps, could be the difference between life and death in some cases.
@zleap
As the data is Open
It's not unconditionally open. Everywhere you look, OSM says "Use our data, BUT credit us". Google does not credit them.
surely it works the other way round too
That would be even worse, because Google does not allow using its map data, period.
if doing so results in better information overall on their maps then that is a good thing
I agree with the premise here, but Google could just, y'know, embrace the OSM, take its data, and credit it accordingly. It's not like it costs anything. But they don't, and that irritates me.