Alternate Routes
The Alternate Routes function provides an easy way to request multiple potential routes between two locations. NOTE: This does not work for multi-point routes, only for routes between a single origin and a destination This function exposes two additional parameters (described below) beyond the regular Route function. A returned result will contain the main route, along with additional potential routes that could be used. NOTE: Additional routes will only be returned if the maxRoutes parameter is set to 2 or above - by default, the service does not return an alternate route.
Service Documentation
Service URL:
/directions/v1/alternateroutes
Parameters
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| maxRoutes | The maximum number of routes to return.
Default = 1 (the original route, no alternates).
Note: The maximum value of maxRoutes
is not strickly defined, but will be limited by the number
of alternate routes MapQuest attempts to find.
|
| timeOverage | The percentage by which the expected drive time of an
alternate is allowed to exceed the expected drive time
of the original route. Default = 25.0.
Alternate routes which exceed the allowed timeOverage
will not be returned.
Note: Certain alternate routes (such as those which try to avoid toll roads if tolls were present in the original route) will increase the timeOverage
value to allow more inclusive results.
|
Response
The response from an Alternate Routes call is identical to a normal Route call, with the following addtional response fields:
| Response Field | Description | JSON Example Return Value(s) | XML Example Return Value(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| name | A unique name for this route. The name will be determined by the MapQuest Platform Services server, but will most often been a road which is unique to this route. |
name: MAIN ST. |
<name>MAIN ST.</name> |
| alternateRoutes | An array of Route Responses. Each Route Response will be a full Route Response. The routes will be listed in order from fastest to slowest. |
{
...
alternateRoutes: [
{ ...
name: "I-81 N",
... },
{ ...
name: "MAIN ST.",
... },
]
...
}
|
<response>
...
<alternateRoutes>
<response>
...
<name>I-81 N</name>
...
</response>
<response>
...
<name>MAIN ST.</name>
...
</response>
</alternateRoutes>
...
</response>
|
Live Sample
See this feature in action on our live Alternate Routes sample page (link will open in a new window.)
