Accuracy and corrections

à portée’s travel times are our best estimates. We route each trip along streets, paths and transit timetables from open data, and check the results before every data update, but a model of a whole country gets some places wrong. Here’s what the times mean, where they fall short, and how to tell us about an error.

What the times are

A time on the map or in a post is the routed time from a block’s or hexagon’s representative point to the nearest place of a kind:

On foot at 3.6 km/h on flat ground, slower uphill, along streets and paths.
By bike at 12 km/h on flat ground, on streets up to a moderate level of traffic stress.
By transit from the timetables operators publish, for a sampled Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, with the walk to and from the stops.

Walking and cycling times are rounded down to the whole minute, so “within 15 minutes” means a trip of less than 16 minutes. The times describe an area, not one home or one trip. A large rural block is measured from one point, so some of its homes can be many minutes nearer or farther. We list these speeds, sampling and rounding rules in the Methodology.

What the times leave out

A time is how long the trip takes on the model’s streets and paths, at the speeds it assumes. The model leaves out:

weather and the season;
your own pace and mobility, and what you carry, such as a stroller or groceries;
safety: traffic, lighting, crossings and how a street feels to walk or cycle;
opening hours, temporary closures, and whether a place serves you;
transit delays, cancellations, detours and holiday timetables;
step-free access and entrances.

The full list is in Known limits.

Errors the data can contain

A place that’s missing, closed, in the wrong spot or of the wrong kind. Places come from OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, with health care and schools checked against Statistics Canada’s databases. A place missing from both is missing here, and a closed one stays until a source drops it.
A street, path or timetable that’s out of date. A new path or a changed bus route reaches the map only with a later data update.
A place across a provincial or territorial boundary. Trips are routed within one province or territory, so in Ottawa and Gatineau, Lloydminster or Flin Flon, the nearest place can be on the other side of the boundary and not counted (Known limits).
A block with no time. Some blocks can’t be connected to the street network, and transit times exist only where an operator publishes a timetable we can use.

The data and its dates

The current data was published October 8, 2026. We list each source’s version and date in Release details: the OpenStreetMap extract, the Overture data, Statistics Canada’s databases and the transit timetables. Each source’s licence and the credit it asks for are on Sources and licences.

Report an error

On the map, click the place’s dot, choose Report an issue and say what’s wrong. The report carries the map position, so we can find the spot.
Anywhere else, use the contact form with “Something looks wrong” chosen. Say where (an address or a link to the map), what looks wrong and what you expected.

Give your email address if you’d like a reply. If a place comes from OpenStreetMap, you can also fix it there: the change reaches à portée with a later data update and helps everyone who uses OpenStreetMap.

What we do with a report

We check the report against the sources and the map.
When the published data is wrong, we fix the cause in the next data update: a source, a classification rule or the routing.
If you gave an email address, we tell you what we found.

No warranty, and not advice

à portée is offered as is. We can’t promise that the times, places or anything else on the site are correct, complete or up to date, so before you rely on a time, check the trip yourself. The times are not professional advice: if you’re deciding about health, safety, housing or money, ask the people responsible, such as the transit operator, the clinic or the city. The Terms of use apply to all use of the site.