There is a question that has been sitting in Google's support forums and on Reddit for years, phrased slightly differently each time but always the same underneath: why can't my calendar just account for the drive?
It is a reasonable thing to want. A 2 p.m. meeting across town is not a 2 p.m. commitment — it is a 1:25 p.m. commitment. The calendar knows the address. It knows the time. It does not connect the two.
Google Calendar doesn't do this, and that's the honest answer
Google's own help material is direct about it: Google Calendar doesn't automatically add travel time, and you need to add it manually. The request has been made repeatedly. There is a Reddit feature request in r/google, dating back to November 2022, asking for exactly this and citing Apple Calendar's Travel Time feature as the thing Google is missing. It has never shipped. In July 2025 someone posted the same question to the Google Calendar Help community — how to automatically include travel time based on where they were coming from — which tells you how long this has gone unanswered.
So if you have been searching for a setting, there isn't one. That is not a failure on your part.
The manual method, on desktop
There is a workaround, and it does work. It is desktop only.
- Open Google Calendar in a web browser
- Create the event, or open an existing one and select Edit
- Put the destination address into the Location field and choose the matching suggestion, so it resolves to a real mapped point
- Click the Preview in Maps pin icon next to the location field
- In the Google Maps sidebar that opens on the right, select Directions
- Enter your starting address
- Read off the drive time
Then create a second event immediately before the first, blocking out that drive. Some people label these "Travel" and colour them differently so the day reads honestly at a glance.
Why it doesn't scale
Every step of that is fine once. The problem is the repetition.
You do it per event. You do it on desktop, which means you cannot do it on your phone while standing in a car park. And the number you get is a snapshot — the drive time Maps shows you at 9 a.m. on Tuesday is not the drive time at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, which is precisely when it matters most.
You are also doing it in advance, which is the wrong moment. The useful question isn't "how long will this take next week." It is "should I be leaving now."
That is why people keep asking for automation rather than just following the steps. The steps are not hard. They are just endless.
What other calendars do
Apple Calendar has a Travel Time feature that adds a buffer for the journey automatically. This is the direct comparison people make, and it is why the Reddit feature request exists — it is not asking Google to invent something, just to match something that already exists elsewhere. When that feature misfires on iPhone, see Apple Calendar Time to Leave not working.
Outlook users search for the same thing in similar numbers, which suggests the gap is not unique to Google.
Neither approach solves the deeper issue, though. A buffer added when you create the event uses an estimate made at creation time. It does not know that today there is a crash on your route.
Buffer time is a different problem
A related search people run is how to add buffer time in Google Calendar — usually meaning gaps between back-to-back meetings rather than travel specifically.
Google Calendar does support this through speedy meetings, which shortens events so they end a few minutes early. It is useful, and it is not the same thing. A five-minute gap between video calls is not a twenty-five-minute drive.
The automatic version
If the journeys that matter are ones you make regularly, the durable fix is something that reads the calendar for you.
BoardSpy Calendar Alarms connects to your Google Calendar with read access — it never creates, edits, or deletes events. Where an event has a location, it works out the drive from your saved commute origin, adds live traffic and a buffer, and sets a leave-by alert for when you actually need to leave. Meetings without a place — Zoom, Meet, and other video calls — get a meeting alarm before they start, at the lead time you pick. You can turn individual meetings on or off.
It is free to start on iOS and Android. See the feature on the homepage, or compare it with Google's own alerts in BoardSpy vs Google Calendar Time to Leave.
If you want a one-off departure time rather than calendar integration, the departure time calculator works one out from your arrival time and your city's rush-hour windows. And if the notification you were relying on has stopped firing, that is a separate and very common problem — see why Google Calendar's Time to Leave alerts don't work.
Frequently asked questions
Can Google Calendar add travel time automatically?
No. Google Calendar has no automatic travel time feature. Google's own help material states that travel time must be added manually. The request has been open on Reddit since at least 2022 and has not shipped.
How do I add travel time to a Google Calendar event?
On desktop, open the event, add the destination to the Location field, click the Preview in Maps pin, choose Directions in the sidebar, enter your starting address and read the drive time. Then create a separate event before the meeting to block out the journey.
Why does Apple Calendar have travel time but Google Calendar doesn't?
Apple built a Travel Time feature that adds a journey buffer automatically; Google has not. There is no technical reason Google could not — it owns Maps — but the feature has never been added to Google Calendar despite repeated requests.
How do I add buffer time between meetings in Google Calendar?
Use speedy meetings in Calendar settings, which ends events a few minutes early to create gaps. This handles back-to-back meetings but is not a substitute for travel time, since the buffer is fixed rather than based on an actual journey.
Can I add travel time to Google Calendar on my phone?
Not with the manual Maps-sidebar method, which is desktop only. To get travel time on mobile you need an app that reads your calendar and calculates it for you.
Is there an app that adds travel time to Google Calendar automatically?
BoardSpy Calendar Alarms connects to Google Calendar with read-only access. Events with a real address get a leave-by alert from your saved commute origin plus live traffic. Meetings without a place, including video calls, get a meeting alarm before they start. You can turn individual meetings on or off. Download: https://boardspy.site/apps/ — homepage: https://boardspy.site/#calendar-alarms — compare: https://boardspy.site/compare/boardspy-vs-google-calendar-time-to-leave/.