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Deutsche Post and DHL switch to OSM from Google Maps [DE]
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this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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And they contribute back to the project, right? Right?
Just switching by itself is a huge contribution.
And I also think they pay to use it, since commercial usage is not free.
Commercial usage oft the osm data is free, see the OSM license. The article even speculates that they switched from Google maps due to licenses costs.
Of course this doesn't apply to commercial services that provide e.g. map tiles.
I dont think they pay anything I the article itself it says it’s free to use and that the main factor to switch were the costs. In the comments there people also say that DHL doesn’t seem to donate to the project.
Here ist the part from the article translated to English:
Since there has been no announcement of the change from either Deutsche Post or DHL, the reasons for this step remain unclear. Presumably, cost reasons may have played a role. Deutsche Post had to pay fees to Google for the use of Google Maps. The data of Openstreetmap is under a free license and may be used without payment of license fees.
The data is free to download. Someone has to host the map data and that's either a 3rd party provider or self-hosted. Both cost money.
Of course, but that’s not what the previous poster was talking about. They were talking about commercial use of the data.
Someone also answered the hosting question on the golem forum, they do host it themselves: https://forum.golem.de/kommentare/opensource/paketverfolgung-und-mehr-post-und-dhl-wechseln-von-google-maps-zu-openstreetmap/immerhin-laedt-die-post-die-daten-von-den-eigenen-servern/170687,6788315,6788315,read.html
Unless they weren't and it was a genuine confusion of OpenStreetMap with something like MapBox which is a paid service to embed OSM-based maps. I merely clarified because not everyone can be expected to know everything.
Possibly, their map data input would be absolutely massive
The simple fact companies like this se the data. Will encourage others who use those companies to update data around them.
Many small companies will find it useful to ensure OSM knows where they are. And inďeviduals who often do not choose delivery companies. Will quickly discover adding short cuts and details around them helps ensure there parcels arrive.
Not to mention most drivers for a company like this. Will want to aid other drivers if they find useful info during an of the beaten path delivery.