Google reverse geocode doesn't always return a street_address

Question

I'm making a very basic google reverse geocode call like:

http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?latlng=37.785546,-122.406551&sensor=true

... and lately (I feel this started happening recently) I'm not getting back a street address. For example, I always use to get something like this:

{
    "results": [
        {
            "address_components": ... ,
            "formatted_address": "1 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA",
            "geometry": ...,
            "types": [
                "street_address"
            ]
        },
...

Now I often don't get a street_address, but instead get something like this as the most accurate reverse geocode result:

{
    "results": [
        {
            "address_components": ...,
            "formatted_address": "4th St & Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA",
            "geometry": ...,
            "types": [
                "transit_station"
            ]
        },

I always want the nearest street address. Does anyone know of a way to force google maps api to always return one?

Answer 1

Talked to Google about this. There isn't a way to specify that you want an actual street address.