Google Maps Android Api v2 distanceBetween method innacurate

Question

to the point. I am using Google Maps Android Api v2 distanceBetween method to grab distance between user location and some point on the map as you can see here:

float[] distance = new float[1];
Location currentLocation = PECApplication.getInstance().getLocationClient().getLastLocation();
Location.distanceBetween(currentLocation.getLatitude(), currentLocation.getLongitude(), marker.getPosition().latitude, marker.getPosition().longitude, distance);
TextView distanceView = (TextView) infoWindow.findViewById(R.id.eventDistanceValue);
distanceView.setText(formatDistance(distance[0]));

The problem is that the result don't match the result I receive from google maps website. In one of the cases the distance of Google Maps Website was 31km and the result from distanceBetween method was 23,328 KM. Someone have a clue? Thanks alot.

Answer 1

MH is right. If you wanna get the travel distance along a road you have to use the web-service Google Directions . Therefor you have to do a http request with a start and an end point of your choice. The response is a JSON with detailed information about the route between your points, like the actual distance, turn by turn instructions and many more.

See this question for some details about the code.