Leaderboards On Roads-Polll 💡

[tony_b]

@PrasadVR

I also feel it would be better to include it in the existing @AdamGT’s Top 100 Leaderboards instead of creating a separate leaderboard.

I agree this would be the right place for it, but I know Roads are a niche activity compared to Photos and Reviews. A very low volume Leaderboard was already cancelled by @AdamGT a few years ago, and he’s considering eliminating another one this month due to low participation and uncertainty as to how Google is handling the particular metric.

I’m uncertain which way to cast my vote, but if there is a Leaderboard, I’ll certainly try to be on it consistently.

[tony_b]

@JustJake

The data was difficult to maintain during TORM due to user input errors. I could not use it for a large tracking project as-is.

I would have to say there is no viable way to track Road Mapper participation beyond the monthly achievement posts.

Take a look at the comment above, @shaileno and @PrasadVR. Although the roads in Road Mapper eventually get into the live Google Maps, it is disconnected from the regular platform and cannot be tracked or verified in the same way.

[shaileno]

Hey @tony_b i understand your point. Tracking and verifying Road Mapper contributions in real time can be quite difficult.

However, we could still create a leaderboard using the verified Road Mapper data shared through the official emails. Instead of making it live, it could be updated on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and annual basis. This approach would keep the leaderboard fair, reliable, and based on verified data while avoiding the challenges of real-time tracking.

[SholaIB]

@tony_b

I’m uncertain which way to cast my vote, but if there is a Leaderboard, I’ll certainly try to be on it consistently.

Lol. That’s understandable @tony_b . No hard feelings at all. It’s just an idea and we are all weighing the possibilities. If we don’t implement it, we will not be penalised. I agree to that idea of including it in the leaderboards but I haven’t gotten any response from Adam. Therefore we can’t do anything yet. Let’s keep deliberating and discussing it.

For the road mappers, we will leave ot further notice seeing there isn’t anyway of tracking the data. However if anyone develops or finds a means of tracking, I’ll really prefer road mappers leaderboards, because there are more local guides on road mappers even more than direct roads on Google maps.

Keep moving on…

Cheers

[SholaIB]

@shaileno

However, we could still create a leaderboard using the verified Road Mapper data shared through the official emails. Instead of making it live, it could be updated on a monthly,

Hello @shaileno

This point was raised by @JustJake in his response as well. This is a fair point, but it still has to be manually and that’s a lot of work to track. There isn’t any automatic way of obtaining the data from the E-mail.

However if anyone feels this is ok and ready to volunteer as well. We could give it a try. @PrasadVR @Kumaarsantosh @tony_b @SharmaK what do you all think about using the monthly E-mail data for road Mappers leaderboards?

Keep watching…

Cheers

[shaileno]

Captain @SholaIB I understand your point. I shared this idea only because leaderboard-style initiatives are currently trending on Connect. I thought that if anyone is interested in exploring new ways to recognize contributors, this could be one possible approach.

It’s just a suggestion and an idea for discussion—not something that must be implemented. If the community and the team find value in it, they can consider it further.

[SharmaK]

Hello @SholaIB,

When you mentioned the email earlier, it reminded me that during TRAC 2026, I received emails from TRAC that included PDF files. Those PDFs were essentially like leaderboards from my perspective.

I’m sharing links to two of those PDFs with you (Top 5 Roaders from each country: May 2026, Roaders Leaderboard: May, 2026. If you look at them, you’ll notice that the groundwork for a leaderboard is already there. Although I’m not sure who prepared them, a lot of effort has clearly gone into creating these documents.

So my suggestion is simple: since the leaderboard is already prepared, you can publish it on Connect with a bit of analysis and context as a post. That would make it even more impactful for the community.

I’m fully in for this initiative. The only important step, in my opinion, is to first take consent from the person who prepared those PDFs. Once that’s done, the task will become much easier for you.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

[Ssiddharth2000]

I think that’s an excellent idea @SholaIB Count me in

[Kumaarsantosh]

@tony_b

I do this all year round, but in small quantities compared to some other LGs

Yes, I completely agree. It all comes down to one’s interest and passion for contributing to specific areas on Google Maps. Campaigns may inspire or motivate some LGs to get started, but many continue contributing simply because they genuinely enjoy helping end users.

As you mentioned, @tony_b, I am also a slow but consistent contributor. I believe that consistency, driven by passion, makes a meaningful difference over time.

I truly appreciate your thoughts and perspective on this topic.

[Kumaarsantosh]

Hi @SholaIB,

This is exactly the point I raised about the limitations of Road Mapper data during our meet-up.

Capturing and sharing Road Mapper contributions for a short duration with a limited group of campaign participants is one thing. However, implementing the same on a regular basis for a much larger participants, beyond the campaign participants; is an entirely different challenge.

As far as I understand, Road Mapper contribution data is specific to each individual and is not publicly accessible unless the contributor voluntarily shares it through a post or another mechanism.

Based on my current understanding, I am not aware of any system that can directly retrieve data from Road Mapper. Since Road Mapper is linked to our Google account credentials rather than Google Maps itself, I believe access to that data remains personal and restricted.

These are my thoughts based on my current knowledge, and I am happy to learn if there are other possibilities or developments that I am not aware of.

[tony_b]

@Kumaarsantosh

Campaigns may inspire or motivate some LGs to get started, but many continue contributing simply because they genuinely enjoy helping end users.

I try to double my contributions during a campaign, then reduce to my regular pace during the other months of the year. But I never stop altogether.

[PrasadVR]

@SholaIB

However if anyone feels this is ok and ready to volunteer as well. We could give it a try. @PrasadVR @Kumaarsantosh @tony_b @SharmaK what do you all think about using the monthly E-mail data for road Mappers leaderboards?

Captain @SholaIB, as Road Mapper updates are currently provided by email, I think collecting the data and maintaining monthly leaderboards at a large scale would be challenging.

[PrasadVR]

@tony_b

A very low volume Leaderboard was already cancelled by @AdamGT a few years ago, and he’s considering eliminating another one this month due to low participation and uncertainty as to how Google is handling the particular metric.

@tony_b , Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I understand your concern about participation. Roads may be a niche activity, but they play an important role in improving Google Maps. Even if the number of participants is small initially, a Roads Leaderboard could help bring more attention to this contribution and encourage more Local Guides to give it a try. Over time, I believe participation will grow.

At the same time, I understand that adding another Leaderboard would mean extra work for @AdamGT , especially with the recent changes in Google Maps data that he is already dealing with. So, while I’d love to see a Roads Leaderboard one day, I also appreciate the time and effort it would take to maintain it.