Route Optimization API

Turn-by-turn navigation (the Directions API) calculates the fastest path between stops in the order you specify. Route optimization reorders those stops to find the sequence that minimizes total travel time or distance. Use the Optimize Route API first to get the best stop order, then pass that ordered list to the Directions API for detailed navigation instructions.

The API supports up to 200 stops per optimization request. For most last-mile delivery and field service scenarios this is more than sufficient. Requests with fewer than 20 stops typically return in under 100 ms. Larger jobs with 100 to 200 stops complete within 1 to 2 seconds.

A time window is a delivery or service constraint specifying the earliest and latest time a stop must be visited. For example, a customer who is available 09:00 to 12:00. The optimizer respects all time windows while still minimizing total route distance. Stops that cannot be reached within their window are flagged in the response so you can reassign or reschedule them.

Yes. Pass a list of vehicles, each with its own start location, capacity, and shift hours. The optimizer distributes stops across the fleet, balancing workload while minimizing total fleet distance. You can mix vehicle types with different capacities in the same request.

Yes. Specify a fixed depot or start location per vehicle. You can also set a fixed end location, or allow the optimizer to end at the last stop to minimize dead-mileage back to base. Round-trip routes that start and end at the same depot are also supported.

The API uses a combination of construction heuristics and local search metaheuristics to solve the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), a generalization of the Travelling Salesman Problem. For practical fleet sizes the solution quality is within 1 to 3 percent of the theoretical optimum, returned in sub-second response times.