Route planning software

[mr_cellophane]

Is there any planning apps out there that will let me mark, say, 12 points and join them up in the most efficient route ?

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Most will let you do it two ways:

1) Click on the start point and then click on the next point, software will route it, then click on the next point, software will route it, repeat until you get to the end.

2) Click on the start point, click on the end point, drag the route to each point in between.

Strava does it both ways, I think ridewithgps does both (option 2 you might need to add a point on the existing route and then drag it rather than just dragging the route)

cycletravel does 2) bit I don't think it does 1)

Google maps will do 2) not sure about 1)

I'm assuming you are doing this on a computer.

 

[mr_cellophane]

For those old enough, you used to be able to do this on Microsoft Route Planner

I want the best route through London calling at (among other places)
Gunter Grove
Melbury Road
Cheyne Walk
Brook Street
Holland Park
Park Crescent
Queensdale Place

 

[albion]

Organic Maps does that. All offline too. If you straddle one of the large regions just move across to download another area first.
Click the 12 points and 'plan' if you need to juggle a bit. Changing route options will allow some tweaking.

Quirky, but likely the best out there.

 

[ColinJ]

Using cycle.travel, start at the start point. Put the end point at the first desired destination. Place a via point there to make sure the route continues to pass through destination one, and now drag the end point to point two. Mark that with another via. Drag to point three... and so on.

 

[chriswoody]

cycle travel seems to do what you want, if I'm understanding you correctly. Just click on your preferred start point, then click on your next prefered destination. In the top left box you need to make sure that "Click Map to add more points" is selected.

Then you can click on the map to your heart's content and the software will keep routing you via the places you want to go.

You can also add via points as well. Have a fiddle with cycle.travel, it's a really good piece of software and I've been impressed with the routes it's given me.

 

[albion]

It is likely Organic and Cycle Travel produce the exact same routes. However, I am assuming it uses the very same code, be it one local app code and the other server based code..

 

[Gwylan]

Is there any planning apps out there that will let me mark, say, 12 points and join them up in the most efficient route ?

Look for Routin.

App that I used to plan ride around a load of control points.

 

[presta]

I got the impression he's looking for s/w that will choose the order to minimise the mileage, not something that just connects the points in the same order you enter them.

 

[Gwylan]

I got the impression he's looking for s/w that will choose the order to minimise the mileage, not something that just connects the points in the same order you enter them.

That's what Routin does!

Did you try it?

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

It is likely Organic and Cycle Travel produce the exact same routes. However, I am assuming it uses the very same code, be it one local app code and the other server based code..

Nope, definitely not the very same!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'd say that there are few planning apps that won't do this. It's pretty basic functionality. If you are using one that doesn't support this, move on quickly to one of the many that do.

 

[Psamathe]

I got the impression he's looking for s/w that will choose the order to minimise the mileage, not something that just connects the points in the same order you enter them.

OP needs to carefully consider exactly what they do want in this regard as minimising mileage might start sending down a main dual-carriageway A road with no cycle lane or over a massive hill when ¼ mile longer route avoids it.

 

[Sea of vapours]

1) Click on the start point and then click on the next point, software will route it, then click on the next point, software will route it, repeat until you get to the end.

2) Click on the start point, click on the end point, drag the route to each point in between.

Komoot appears to do both of the above, depending on how you operate it.
1. Simply clicking points and saying 'Include on route' will join the route to those points in whatever order it thinks best. If that means changing the order of points, it'll change them, so this seems to meet the OP's requirement.
2. For a partly planned route, if you drag the line to a new point, it will include that point on the route as an intermediate point between the existing points either side of it.

Whether the resulting route (using option 1) is 'most efficient' rather depends on what is meant by 'efficient'. It appears to be what Komoot thinks is the shortest in terms of time, which is 'time efficient' but may not minimise distance or elevation gain. Option 2 will only be 'most efficient' between points, not overall, since the user is forcing it to order the points.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Oh right. I misunderstood. OP wants the planner to choose the optimum order in which to visit the points in order to minimise distance. That's the Travelling Salesman Problem.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travelling_salesman_problem

If you know a good algorithm for this that doesn't blow up as you add more points then there are a few pointy headed mathematicians who would like a word.