Outside of curation, I think Maps lacks polish from non-US devs, and that results in weirdly unconvenient maps for a lot of cities, leading to people using it and contributing less to it.
For instance train station mapping (where are the entries/exits) is a feature available in some local map services and is a big quality of life improvement in europe or SEA cities, but never made it to Google Maps.
Same for the lack of multi-story building mapping, where there’s only a single shop for a single address, which can still work out for shopping malls (they have their own site), but is crazy for densely packed neighborhoods. Looking for restaurants in Paris or Tokyo through Google Maps is just frustrating.
If I get public transport directions in Tokyo using Google it advises on exits, best train boarding position, and fares. In London none of these are available. Admittedly, I think the first two are deliberate, but surely London can provide fare data.
Another bias I've noticed is US sites "collapsing" opening hours as if there is no siesta, ie opening hours are just displayed as 10am-11pm.
Even in Germany pretty much any pharmacy, doctor’s offices, and even phone repair shops will close for lunch. It’s not like this only affects a few people.
Outside of curation, I think Maps lacks polish from non-US devs, and that results in weirdly unconvenient maps for a lot of cities, leading to people using it and contributing less to it.
For instance train station mapping (where are the entries/exits) is a feature available in some local map services and is a big quality of life improvement in europe or SEA cities, but never made it to Google Maps.
Same for the lack of multi-story building mapping, where there’s only a single shop for a single address, which can still work out for shopping malls (they have their own site), but is crazy for densely packed neighborhoods. Looking for restaurants in Paris or Tokyo through Google Maps is just frustrating.