What is the difference between the shortest, fastest and recommended routing preference for cycling?

openrouteservice directions
1

I am struggling a bit trying to find some documentation in regards to what parameters the “shortest”, “fastest” and “recommended” routes for cyclists are based on. From what I have read, I think that “shortest” is mainly based on distance and “fastest” is mainly based on time to travel a certain distance. However, I do not understand why distance and time would result in different routes for cycling, as I would expect cyclists to maintain more or less the same speed regardless of which route they choose.
Is it because other factors like turns or crossroads are also taken into account for fastest preference routes?

Thus my question: How would you explain the difference between the shortest, fastest and recommended routing preferences for cyclists?

2

Hi @Gil,

For the recommended check this post

Shortest is based on distance as you said.

Regarding fastest: Travel times in fact do change between different waytypes.
For the assumed speeds depending on the waytype check this doc page

Best regards

3

One thing to note regarding fastest is that the routes are chosen not entirely based on speed/travel time, but similarly as for recommended additionally prioritized based on some way properties considered relevant for cycling. For example, cycling paths are preferred over regular roads. The difference to recommended is that more weight is given to actual travel time, possibly at the cost of suitability for bikes.