Microsoft recently announced that they would be retiring the Bing Maps Multi Itinerary Optimization (MIO) API. The retirement date is scheduled for June 30, 2025, and after that date, applications built with the Bing Maps MIO API will no longer function. There are likely various reasons for this retirement. But regardless of Microsoft’s reason for retiring this product, anyone currently using this Microsoft routing API will need a Bing Maps Multi Itinerary Optimization API alternative.
The RouteSavvy API PLUS is a powerful, affordable alternative to the Bing Maps Multi Itinerary Optimization API. Introduced in January 2024, RouteSavvy API PLUS is an advanced new Application Programming Interface (API) based on the same powerful route optimization platform used for RouteSavvy route planning software for end users. RouteSavvy API PLUS is designed for software developers who are incorporating route optimization functionality into software applications they are developing but also need advanced functionality including Multi-vehicle Route Optimization and Time Windows.
Bing Maps MIO API was a solution for the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). This typically involves optimizing routes for multiple vehicles and a set of stops. For example, if you have 5 vehicles in your fleet and 100 stops for the day, a VRP solution will split the stops over the available vehicles and optimize the individual route including balancing the load, so each vehicle shares a similar amount of work to perform. The RouteSavvy API PLUS also offers this functionality, and more.
In their recent email about the Bing Maps MIO API retirement, Microsoft recommends an alternative that involves Google’s OR Tools, Python and the Microsoft Azure Maps Distance Matrix API. However, implementing this solution requires a number of complex steps.
- Google OR-Tools – Requires a developer to install and learn these API libraries for performing optimization tasks. This involves understanding the optimization algorithms, options and constraints, and their results. See https://developers.google.com/optimization/routing/vrp for more information. And there’s little recourse if developers find that the optimization requests don’t make sense. Technical support options for open-source solutions like OR-Tools are extremely limited.
- Distance Matrix – For accurate route optimization, OR-Tools require you to supply a distance matrix. A distance matrix is like a spreadsheet of all the route stop start and end locations. This allows the optimization algorithms to determine the shortest path or time when solving the optimization problem. Microsoft recommends their Azure Maps Distance Matrix API; documentation can be found here. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/maps/route/post-route-matrix. Again, this is a development requirement that requires a learning curve…with many new technical concepts, options, and constraints to learn and master when using this API. Also, the cost per transaction of the Azure Maps API can add up quickly. Every time you request the Azure Maps Distance Matrix in trying to perform a route optimization, you incur billable transactions.
RouteSavvy API Plus is a viable alternative to the Bing Maps Multi Intinerary Optimization API. It’s easy for a developer to get started, supports up to 1,000 stops and 50 vehicles, and pricing starts at only $100/month. The RouteSavvy API Plus offers ease of use and a fast ramp-up for developers. It’s a robust, REST-based API that allows developers to quickly get started. RouteSavvy API PLUS allows users to “minimize vehicles” as part of the optimization, which can reduce the number of vehicles needed on any particular day. Additionally for developers, there is a RouteSavvy API Plus GitHub project providing sample code: Visit https://github.com/onterra/Example-RouteSavvyJsonPlusAPI.
RouteSavvy API PLUS is low-cost, high-performance, high-functionality API that’s easy to integrate into many customer scenarios.
For more information, visit: https://www.routesavvy.com/routesavvy-route-optimization-api/, to access code samples and a free trial.