The problem with using the Google Maps API for UK addresses

I love the Google Maps API. Except when using it for UK based addresses. There is a big problem with any app created using the Google Maps API – UK postcodes will NOT be processed, worse still, they return errors.

To give some background on the issue, The Royal Mail own the copywrite for the PAF (Postcode Address File) as its called and charge anyone who wants to access it. You’re probably thinking “but I’ve used postcodes on Google Maps lots of times before….” and you’d be right. The problem emerges as Google refuses (in my opinion rightly so) to pay for its API to access the PAF (see background information), which means that anyone using the Google Maps API for UK purposes is severely handicapped by its limitations from a usability and functionality point of view. What really rubs salt into the wounds is that almost every other major country has there post/zipcode data available freely.

So until this ridiculous situation is fixed, API developers using the Maps API for UK purposes will have plenty of headaches.

Update 9/12/2009: UK Postcode data will finally be free in April 2010, source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8402327.stm

Sep 1st, 2009

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The problem with using the Google Maps API for UK addresses

  • Managed to get a chance to test MultiMap Postcode lookup on one of there API pages. It handles Postcodes very well from what I can see. Looked through most of the demos they have, and although they have some showcasing routing, none show point A to point B using postcode inputs which seemed odd as that is surely the most common usage? I'll try and make something from the API and post the code in another post
  • zed
    Hi Alex
    Thanks for the article. It helps explain why google's API does not give accurate results when using full postcode.

    Multimap seem to also offer free embedded maps (limit of 50,000 transactions/year). Have you tried their service? do you think results will be accurate when using full postcode? or is the problem linked to the PAF uniform across all free mapping platforms?
  • alex
    Hi Zed,
    Thanks for the feedback, always appreciated :)

    I've not used MultiMap before, at least not via their API, I did check out Microsoft Live Maps (which now redirects to MultiMap, which seems odd, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_Maps#United_Kingdom). I will try it out in the next few days as if the limit is 50,000 transactions a year, and the functionality is good then it will serve most small/medium businesses perfectly.

    Thanks for the tip :)
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