Last month we released a lot of exciting new features to the HERE platform, including version support for interactive map layers, integration of Traffic Vector Tile API and Traffic API v7 to the Maps API for Javascript, new features on the Raster and Vector Tile API, lots of updates to Geocoding API, and more. For complete information, see April 2023 platform release notes. In this blog, we will discuss the support of new Saudi Arabia Short Addresses with Geocoding API.    

Saudi Arabia Short Addresses

The MENA region, particularly Saudi Arabia, has been grappling with the challenge of last mile delivery for years. Locating the exact point of delivery for a parcel or service on the ground has caused frustration for all stakeholders in the value chain, leading to extensive discussion and analysis of the issue. The most significant challenge for consumers remains the ongoing hassle of follow-up calls from delivery staff requesting additional address details and requesting that they share their location on apps like WhatsApp, causing frustration and inconvenience.

To overcome this, the National Address Unit of Kingdom Saudi Arabia has successfully streamlined the address infrastructure by creating an easy-to-use standard, known as the "Short National Address." A short address that is easy to memorize, consists of 4 letters and 4 numbers that will make your life simpler. 

HERE Geocoding

With the recent release, HERE Geocoding now supports this new address scheme. We can use the /geocode endpoint to search by short address, for example, the request with 'q=RCTB4359' parameter will return a precise house number result: 'RCTB4359, 4359 Abi Al Karam Street, Al Dhobbat, 12627 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia'.

Sample Application

Below is the sample application showing several sample of short addresses in Saudi Arabia as a request parameter to the Geocoding API, and it would show response from Geocoding API including the precise house address, and a location in the map of that address. This sample is built using HERE Maps API for Javascript and modified from the Search for a Location based on an Address sample. The source code for this sample application can be found in our HERE Github repo.