Author: Jindra Lacko
Date: 2025-01-07

# gmapsdistance package in use

#### Jindra Lacko

#### 2025-01-07

## Setting up API key

The Google Distance Matrix API requires registration, and an API key is required in each function call. It is possible to store the key for duration of a R session by using `gmapsdistance::set.api.key()` call.

Note that in order to keep the maintainers API key private it has been stored locally in an environment variable; in the most frequent use cases it can be used in plain text.

    library(gmapsdistance)
    set.api.key(Sys.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY"))

## Distance between cities

In this example we will compute the driving distance between Washington DC, and New York City. The code returns the `Time`, the `Distance` and the `Status` of the query (`OK` if it was successful). The calculation will be made using the “driving” method, which is the default.

    results = gmapsdistance(origin = "Washington DC",
                            destination = "New York City NY")
    results
    ## $Distance
    ## [1] 361711
    ##
    ## $Time
    ## [1] 13910
    ##
    ## $Status
    ## [1] "OK"

## Walking distance between GPS coordinates

In this example we will compute the driving distance between the Greek cities of Marathon and Athens. We show that the function is able to handle LAT-LONG coordinates.

    results = gmapsdistance(origin = "38.1621328 24.0029257",
                            destination = "37.9908372 23.7383394",
                            mode = "walking")
    results
    ## $Distance
    ## [1] 39461
    ##
    ## $Time
    ## [1] 33271
    ##
    ## $Status
    ## [1] "OK"

## Distance matrix at a specific departure time

This example computes the travel distance and time matrices between two vectors of cities at a specific departure time

    results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington DC", "New York NY",
                                       "Seattle WA", "Miami FL"),
                            destination = c("Los Angeles CA", "Austin TX",
                                            "Chicago IL", "Philadelphia PA"),
                            mode = "bicycling",
                            # departure time as seconds from Unix Epoch (1970-01-01)
                            departure = 1740000000)
    results
    ## $Distance
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC        4986095   3125626    1274619          242658
    ## New York NY          5196724   3336255    1502416          161314
    ## Seattle WA           2169821   3841339    3665627         5172587
    ## Miami FL             4817978   2453963    2452591         2230557
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC         923170    587645     245772           48438
    ## New York NY           965663    630138     292075           32101
    ## Seattle WA            420165    718670     688892          978307
    ## Miami FL              885208    448328     470617          420322
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## New York NY   "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## Seattle WA    "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## Miami FL      "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    # Equivalently
    results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington DC", "New York NY",
                                       "Seattle WA", "Miami FL"),
                            destination = c("Los Angeles CA", "Austin TX",
                                            "Chicago IL", "Philadelphia PA"),
                            mode = "bicycling",
                            dep_date = "2025-02-19",
                            dep_time = "22:20:00")
    results
    ## $Distance
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC        4986095   3125626    1274619          242658
    ## New York NY          5196724   3336255    1502416          161314
    ## Seattle WA           2169821   3841339    3665627         5172587
    ## Miami FL             4817978   2453963    2452591         2230557
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC         923170    587645     245772           48438
    ## New York NY           965663    630138     292075           32101
    ## Seattle WA            420165    718670     688892          978307
    ## Miami FL              885208    448328     470617          420322
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## New York NY   "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## Seattle WA    "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## Miami FL      "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"

## Long format of distance matrix

This example computes the travel distance and time matrices between two vectors of cities and return the results in long format

    origin = c("Washington DC", "New York NY", "Seattle WA", "Miami FL")
    destination = c("Los Angeles CA", "Austin TX", "Chicago IL")

    results = gmapsdistance(origin,
                            destination,
                            mode = "driving",
                            shape = "long")

    results
    ## $Distance
    ##               or             de Distance
    ## 1  Washington DC Los Angeles CA  4294717
    ## 2    New York NY Los Angeles CA  4488645
    ## 3     Seattle WA Los Angeles CA  1826153
    ## 4       Miami FL Los Angeles CA  4402933
    ## 5  Washington DC      Austin TX  2452059
    ## 6    New York NY      Austin TX  2805907
    ## 7     Seattle WA      Austin TX  3408299
    ## 8       Miami FL      Austin TX  2175955
    ## 9  Washington DC     Chicago IL  1120430
    ## 10   New York NY     Chicago IL  1271087
    ## 11    Seattle WA     Chicago IL  3321787
    ## 12      Miami FL     Chicago IL  2221683
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##               or             de   Time
    ## 1  Washington DC Los Angeles CA 139041
    ## 2    New York NY Los Angeles CA 146264
    ## 3     Seattle WA Los Angeles CA  62401
    ## 4       Miami FL Los Angeles CA 141098
    ## 5  Washington DC      Austin TX  80311
    ## 6    New York NY      Austin TX  92613
    ## 7     Seattle WA      Austin TX 117319
    ## 8       Miami FL      Austin TX  70238
    ## 9  Washington DC     Chicago IL  38406
    ## 10   New York NY     Chicago IL  43228
    ## 11    Seattle WA     Chicago IL 107017
    ## 12      Miami FL     Chicago IL  72163
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##               or             de status
    ## 1  Washington DC Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 2    New York NY Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 3     Seattle WA Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 4       Miami FL Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 5  Washington DC      Austin TX     OK
    ## 6    New York NY      Austin TX     OK
    ## 7     Seattle WA      Austin TX     OK
    ## 8       Miami FL      Austin TX     OK
    ## 9  Washington DC     Chicago IL     OK
    ## 10   New York NY     Chicago IL     OK
    ## 11    Seattle WA     Chicago IL     OK
    ## 12      Miami FL     Chicago IL     OK

## Distance matrix between GPS coordinates

This example computes the travel distance and time between two vectors of cities defined as LAT-LONG coordinates.

    origin = c("40.431478 -80.0505401", "33.7678359 -84.4906438")
    destination = c("43.0995629 -79.0437609", "41.7096483 -86.9093986")

    results = gmapsdistance(origin,
                            destination,
                            mode="bicycling",
                            shape="long")

    results
    ## $Distance
    ##                       or                     de Distance
    ## 1  40.431478 -80.0505401 43.0995629 -79.0437609   413791
    ## 2 33.7678359 -84.4906438 43.0995629 -79.0437609  1623357
    ## 3  40.431478 -80.0505401 41.7096483 -86.9093986   728701
    ## 4 33.7678359 -84.4906438 41.7096483 -86.9093986  1181441
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##                       or                     de   Time
    ## 1  40.431478 -80.0505401 43.0995629 -79.0437609  83934
    ## 2 33.7678359 -84.4906438 43.0995629 -79.0437609 318376
    ## 3  40.431478 -80.0505401 41.7096483 -86.9093986 137489
    ## 4 33.7678359 -84.4906438 41.7096483 -86.9093986 233074
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##                       or                     de status
    ## 1  40.431478 -80.0505401 43.0995629 -79.0437609     OK
    ## 2 33.7678359 -84.4906438 43.0995629 -79.0437609     OK
    ## 3  40.431478 -80.0505401 41.7096483 -86.9093986     OK
    ## 4 33.7678359 -84.4906438 41.7096483 -86.9093986     OK

## Combination of distances

This example computes the travel distance and time between two vectors of cities using the ‘combinations’ option.

    # 1. Pairwise

    or = c("Washington DC", "New York NY", "Seattle WA", "Miami FL")
    des = c("Los Angeles CA", "Austin TX", "Chicago IL", "Philadelphia PA")

    results = gmapsdistance(origin = or,
                            destination = des,
                            mode = "bicycling",
                            combinations = "pairwise")
    results
    ## $Distance
    ##              or              de Distance
    ## 1 Washington DC  Los Angeles CA  4986095
    ## 2   New York NY       Austin TX  3336255
    ## 3    Seattle WA      Chicago IL  3665627
    ## 4      Miami FL Philadelphia PA  2230557
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##              or              de   Time
    ## 1 Washington DC  Los Angeles CA 923170
    ## 2   New York NY       Austin TX 630138
    ## 3    Seattle WA      Chicago IL 688892
    ## 4      Miami FL Philadelphia PA 420322
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##              or              de status
    ## 1 Washington DC  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 2   New York NY       Austin TX     OK
    ## 3    Seattle WA      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 4      Miami FL Philadelphia PA     OK

    # 2. All combinations of origins and destinations in wide format
    results = gmapsdistance(origin = or,
                            destination = des,
                            mode = "bicycling",
                            combinations = "all",
                            shape = "wide")
    results
    ## $Distance
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC        4986095   3125626    1274619          242658
    ## New York NY          5196724   3336255    1502416          161314
    ## Seattle WA           2169821   3841339    3665627         5172587
    ## Miami FL             4817978   2453963    2452591         2230557
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC         923170    587645     245772           48438
    ## New York NY           965663    630138     292075           32101
    ## Seattle WA            420165    718670     688892          978307
    ## Miami FL              885208    448328     470617          420322
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX Chicago IL Philadelphia PA
    ## Washington DC "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## New York NY   "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## Seattle WA    "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"
    ## Miami FL      "OK"           "OK"      "OK"       "OK"

    results = gmapsdistance(origin = or,
                            destination = des,
                            mode = "bicycling",
                            combinations = "all",
                            shape = "long")
    results
    ## $Distance
    ##               or              de Distance
    ## 1  Washington DC  Los Angeles CA  4986095
    ## 2    New York NY  Los Angeles CA  5196724
    ## 3     Seattle WA  Los Angeles CA  2169821
    ## 4       Miami FL  Los Angeles CA  4817978
    ## 5  Washington DC       Austin TX  3125626
    ## 6    New York NY       Austin TX  3336255
    ## 7     Seattle WA       Austin TX  3841339
    ## 8       Miami FL       Austin TX  2453963
    ## 9  Washington DC      Chicago IL  1274619
    ## 10   New York NY      Chicago IL  1502416
    ## 11    Seattle WA      Chicago IL  3665627
    ## 12      Miami FL      Chicago IL  2452591
    ## 13 Washington DC Philadelphia PA   242658
    ## 14   New York NY Philadelphia PA   161314
    ## 15    Seattle WA Philadelphia PA  5172587
    ## 16      Miami FL Philadelphia PA  2230557
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##               or              de   Time
    ## 1  Washington DC  Los Angeles CA 923170
    ## 2    New York NY  Los Angeles CA 965663
    ## 3     Seattle WA  Los Angeles CA 420165
    ## 4       Miami FL  Los Angeles CA 885208
    ## 5  Washington DC       Austin TX 587645
    ## 6    New York NY       Austin TX 630138
    ## 7     Seattle WA       Austin TX 718670
    ## 8       Miami FL       Austin TX 448328
    ## 9  Washington DC      Chicago IL 245772
    ## 10   New York NY      Chicago IL 292075
    ## 11    Seattle WA      Chicago IL 688892
    ## 12      Miami FL      Chicago IL 470617
    ## 13 Washington DC Philadelphia PA  48438
    ## 14   New York NY Philadelphia PA  32101
    ## 15    Seattle WA Philadelphia PA 978307
    ## 16      Miami FL Philadelphia PA 420322
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##               or              de status
    ## 1  Washington DC  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 2    New York NY  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 3     Seattle WA  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 4       Miami FL  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 5  Washington DC       Austin TX     OK
    ## 6    New York NY       Austin TX     OK
    ## 7     Seattle WA       Austin TX     OK
    ## 8       Miami FL       Austin TX     OK
    ## 9  Washington DC      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 10   New York NY      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 11    Seattle WA      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 12      Miami FL      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 13 Washington DC Philadelphia PA     OK
    ## 14   New York NY Philadelphia PA     OK
    ## 15    Seattle WA Philadelphia PA     OK
    ## 16      Miami FL Philadelphia PA     OK

## Using optional parameters - traffic model and avoidance

This example show the use of traffic model and avoidance parameters, while setting the API key directly in function call. Note that in order to keep the maintainers API key private it has been stored locally in an environment variable; in the most frequent use cases it can be used in plain text.

    APIkey <- Sys.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY") # your actual API key would go here...

    # Time and distance using a 'pessimistic' traffic model.
    results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington DC", "New York NY"),
                            destination = c("Los Angeles CA", "Austin TX"),
                            mode = "driving",
                            dep_date = "2023-11-14",
                            dep_time = "23:13:20",
                            traffic_model = "pessimistic",
                            shape = "long",
                            key=APIkey)
    ## Error in gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington DC", "New York NY"), destination = c("Los Angeles CA", : The departure time has to be some time in the future!
    results
    ## $Distance
    ##               or              de Distance
    ## 1  Washington DC  Los Angeles CA  4986095
    ## 2    New York NY  Los Angeles CA  5196724
    ## 3     Seattle WA  Los Angeles CA  2169821
    ## 4       Miami FL  Los Angeles CA  4817978
    ## 5  Washington DC       Austin TX  3125626
    ## 6    New York NY       Austin TX  3336255
    ## 7     Seattle WA       Austin TX  3841339
    ## 8       Miami FL       Austin TX  2453963
    ## 9  Washington DC      Chicago IL  1274619
    ## 10   New York NY      Chicago IL  1502416
    ## 11    Seattle WA      Chicago IL  3665627
    ## 12      Miami FL      Chicago IL  2452591
    ## 13 Washington DC Philadelphia PA   242658
    ## 14   New York NY Philadelphia PA   161314
    ## 15    Seattle WA Philadelphia PA  5172587
    ## 16      Miami FL Philadelphia PA  2230557
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##               or              de   Time
    ## 1  Washington DC  Los Angeles CA 923170
    ## 2    New York NY  Los Angeles CA 965663
    ## 3     Seattle WA  Los Angeles CA 420165
    ## 4       Miami FL  Los Angeles CA 885208
    ## 5  Washington DC       Austin TX 587645
    ## 6    New York NY       Austin TX 630138
    ## 7     Seattle WA       Austin TX 718670
    ## 8       Miami FL       Austin TX 448328
    ## 9  Washington DC      Chicago IL 245772
    ## 10   New York NY      Chicago IL 292075
    ## 11    Seattle WA      Chicago IL 688892
    ## 12      Miami FL      Chicago IL 470617
    ## 13 Washington DC Philadelphia PA  48438
    ## 14   New York NY Philadelphia PA  32101
    ## 15    Seattle WA Philadelphia PA 978307
    ## 16      Miami FL Philadelphia PA 420322
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##               or              de status
    ## 1  Washington DC  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 2    New York NY  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 3     Seattle WA  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 4       Miami FL  Los Angeles CA     OK
    ## 5  Washington DC       Austin TX     OK
    ## 6    New York NY       Austin TX     OK
    ## 7     Seattle WA       Austin TX     OK
    ## 8       Miami FL       Austin TX     OK
    ## 9  Washington DC      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 10   New York NY      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 11    Seattle WA      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 12      Miami FL      Chicago IL     OK
    ## 13 Washington DC Philadelphia PA     OK
    ## 14   New York NY Philadelphia PA     OK
    ## 15    Seattle WA Philadelphia PA     OK
    ## 16      Miami FL Philadelphia PA     OK

    # Time and distance avoiding 'tolls'.
    results = gmapsdistance(origin = c("Washington DC", "New York NY"),
                            destination = c("Los Angeles CA", "Austin TX"),
                            mode = "driving",
                            avoid = "tolls",
                            key=APIkey)

    results
    ## $Distance
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX
    ## Washington DC        4307590   2464936
    ## New York NY          4605591   2800410
    ##
    ## $Time
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX
    ## Washington DC         139720     80978
    ## New York NY           150909     93056
    ##
    ## $Status
    ##               Los Angeles CA Austin TX
    ## Washington DC "OK"           "OK"
    ## New York NY   "OK"           "OK"

## Using “foreign” place names

It is perfectly possible to use names in non-ASCII characters; care must be however made that all characters are encoded in UTF-8 though. This may not be the obvious first choice of encoding, especially in Windows environments.

    results = gmapsdistance(origin = "вулиця Хрещатик, Київ",
                            destination = "Майдан Незалежності, Київ",
                            mode = "walking")
    results
    ## $Distance
    ## [1] 447
    ##
    ## $Time
    ## [1] 384
    ##
    ## $Status
    ## [1] "OK"