The pretty Loch Fyne fishing village of Tarbert, host to the biggest sailing regatta in the north of the UK – the Scottish Series – has had a long running dispute with Google Maps and the well known Sat Nav producer, TomTom.
The two positioning services have persistently misplaced Tarbert – on the west coast of Loch Fyne.
To date it has been given three serial locations, all, of them wrong. The latest has it twelve miles south west of its true location – and well inland of the main A83 road, overlooking the entrance to West Loch Tarbert, on the west side of ther Kintyre peninsula.
While the goofs of Google and TomTom make for plenty of good jokes involving their names, opaque goggles and jungle drums sending wrong messages, its not much fun for Tarbert. Businesses claim to be losing trade because people cannot find them and, in the case of TomTom, are being actively and significantly misdirected.
However, the subject has given today’s editions of The Herald and the Daily Mail a good weekend story and these have, at least, publicised where Tarbert is sited in reality – and brought the genuinely lovely village to wide attention.
It remains impossible to understand, however, just why these two giants of positioning technology cannot get this right.
Really pleased to see that this issue has at last resurfaced. Let’s hope that the arrogant faceless wonders at Google. Tom Tom and their mapping agency will react and correct their error. Tarbert and Skipness Community Council has been trying to get this sorted for the last 3 years without success or acknowledgement.
I am currently out of UK on hols and can’t find this story on Mail or Herald’s sit so would appreciate a link.
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I tried posting some links and unfortunately they were stripped out. Search google news for “Tarbert Google”
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BT’s online telephone directory system have also been confusing business within Tarbert Loch Ftne with those in a tiny village north of Fort William, with the result that Hotels known to be in the Tarbert, Loch Fyne area could not be located. Indeed, according to them, there were no hotels in Tarbert and the nearest listed one appeared to be on Mull – very helpful.
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You have run this story before, why run it again, and repeat the downright lies that were promoted the first time?
Neither Google not TomTom are responsible for the errors. They buy the maps from the companies that compile them.
Even if Google did change the mapping – and that may not even be legal for them to do as the mapping is copyright, and there may be conditions – then their changes would be lost when they were updated.
Instead of wasting time and jumping on the “Let’s kick Google for something” bandwagon, perhaps clever ForArgyll would be better advised to do some proper research, and not take cheap shots like: “It remains impossible to understand, however, just why these two giants of positioning technology cannot get this right.”
Who knows, it might even get a reputation for good reporting and results if its efforts got the mapping data changed at the source where it is created, and should be changed/corrected.
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As the person who tried to correct the mistakes about Tarbert,I would like to inform Mr Crawford that in MARCH 2009 I entered the corrections required to change “Carse”, as Tarbert was then named, to its correct location and name. This was through Tele Atlas the map provider. The corrections page then suggested that I add Points of Interest. This I did, as I thought tourists would like to know where the Bank, Post Office, ATMs, cafe’s, Medical Centre, etc were. I made over 20 entries. In MAY 2011 I received over 20 emails from Tele Atlas to say all of my corrections had been implemented and that their updates would contain the new information. When I then read the individual emails I could not believe my eyes as ALL the points of interest were wrong! This included a cafe being listed as a hospital, our pharmacy and 3 other shops had become filling stations and the Post Office was a parking lot. 2 YEARS and 2 MONTHS and the information I had so carefully listed was ALL wrong. Maybe if Mr Crawford reads the dates I have quoted he will see why it is back in the news. This issue is serious for our traders and the village. Drivers using Sat Nav are being directed along a Timber Haulage Route, the B8024, and by-pass Tarbert completely. Last week, the 5th October 2011, a local resident updated his TomTom on his computer, asked for directions from Lochgilphead to Campbeltown and was directed along the B8024.The same thing happened on his return. Knowing that we had this problem, almost 3 years ago the Community Council asked Transport Scotland for a brown Tourist sign at the junctions of the A83 and the B8024. We have just been informed that Tarbert cannot have a sign because it is not a tourist destination, it is a ‘place’.
Our local historian would dispute that and say Tarbert has been a tourist destination since the 1300s!Nobody is kicking anyone, Mr Crawford, we are asking very profitable mapping companies to get it right and put Tarbert back on the map. Read Moira Kerr’s articles in the daily press on the 1st October 2011. ForArgyll website is actually very up to date, unlike the mapping agencies.
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Hugh: Surely if Google take it upon themselves to produce mapping information that they clearly intend to be widely used – because it’s useful – they have a duty to correct damaging misinformation on their maps when it’s been brought to their attention? If they publish misinformation, they are responsible for it; if they’ve been sold dud information by a map compiler it’s between Google and the compiler to correct their mistakes. Google are good, but they’re not God.
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Making mistakes with maps is nothing new. Until I notified Argyll & Bute Council of their error their online map showed the main rubbish dump on Islay as beside the Bowmore Primary School instead of about four miles outside Bowmore.
I suspect that the Argyll & Bute councillors used the incorrect map when making their decision to stop the brown bin collection on Islay after 31st March 2011.
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