Alternatives¶

Alternative Routes allows you to receive multiple route options for the same origin and destination points.

What are Alternative Routes?¶

The Alternative Routes feature calculates different route options for the same origin-destination pair. This allows you to:

Compare routes
Present options to the user
Evaluate alternatives based on traffic or other factors

Basic Usage¶

Set the alternatives field in the request body.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Allowed values	Description
`alternatives`	integer	Optional	`0`	`0`–`5`	Number of alternative routes to request

curl -X POST "https://api.flio.ai/solver/route?api_key=YOUR-API-KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "origin": {
      "latitude": 41.0082,
      "longitude": 28.9784
    },
    "destination": {
      "latitude": 41.0150,
      "longitude": 28.9850
    },
    "alternatives": 2
  }'

The response is a top-level JSON array. Each returned route is an item in that array; there is no routes wrapper.

Configuration¶

Minimize Parameter¶

Use minimize to choose the calculation criterion applied to the primary route and its alternatives.

Value	Description
`duration`	Prioritizes routes with shorter travel time
`distance`	Prioritizes routes with shorter travel distance

Combination with Avoid Features¶

The alternatives field requests additional route options. The minimize and avoid_features fields control how those routes are calculated; they are not alternative-route mechanisms by themselves.

{
  "origin": {
    "latitude": 41.0082,
    "longitude": 28.9784
  },
  "destination": {
    "latitude": 41.015,
    "longitude": 28.985
  },
  "alternatives": 2,
  "minimize": "duration",
  "avoid_features": ["tollRoad"]
}

Sending separate requests with different minimize or avoid_features values compares different calculation criteria. It does not use the Alternatives feature.

Use Cases¶

1. Route Comparison¶

Present different route options to users.

2. Cost Analysis¶

Compare the costs of returned routes.

3. Contingency Planning¶

Prepare alternatives for the primary route.

Python Example¶

import requests

API_BASE_URL = "https://api.flio.ai"
API_KEY = "YOUR-API-KEY"


def get_alternatives(origin, destination, count=2):
    response = requests.post(
        f"{API_BASE_URL}/solver/route?api_key={API_KEY}",
        json={
            "origin": origin,
            "destination": destination,
            "alternatives": count,
        },
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()


origin = {"latitude": 41.0082, "longitude": 28.9784}
destination = {"latitude": 41.0150, "longitude": 28.9850}

routes = get_alternatives(origin, destination)
for index, route in enumerate(routes, start=1):
    summary = route["summary"]
    print(
        f"Route {index}: "
        f"{summary['distance']}m, {summary['duration']}s"
    )

Alternative Routes — Flio.ai