Google Transit Now In Beta 325
KIondike writes "Google's introduced Google Transit, a new Lab product where users (or, "people") can map trips around their city using public transit. From the Google Blog: 'With it, commuters will be able to easily access public transit schedules, routes, and plan trips using their local public transportation options. This first release covers only the Portland, Oregon metro area, but we are working to expand our coverage very soon.' The amount of data they give seems very comprehensive, including time you'll spend walking to the bus or subway, and the amount of money it would cost compared to driving."
Good lord (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Good lord (Score:5, Informative)
(English guide to aforementioned service [japannewbie.com])
Re:Good lord (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Good lord (Score:2)
Re:Good lord (Score:5, Funny)
You're aware that Google is only mapping public transit systems, not building them, right?
Re:Good lord (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Good lord (Score:2)
--
Q
Re:Good lord (Score:3, Funny)
Re:is google trying to take over the world... (Score:3, Funny)
I dearly hope they can do Newark NJ next. (Score:2)
Keeping my fingers crossed...
Re:is google trying to take over the world... (Score:5, Interesting)
Rather than being spread too thin, I think Google's problem is more akin to a typical standing army: they have all these people standing around being paid
snotty syntax (Score:2)
Consistent interface no matter the system (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:is google trying to take over the world... (Score:2)
Re:is google trying to take over the world... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Chicago already has this (Score:2, Informative)
London also has the same thing (Score:2)
Re:Montreal's transit planner, online since 1997. (Score:3, Funny)
Shush you and all of the other naysayers! Google invented everything. Personally I can't wait until Google invents TCP/IP.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Score:2)
NYC Public Transit (Score:4, Funny)
Re:NYC Public Transit (Score:2)
Just wait till people start accessing this over their cellphones.
Is the (NY) transit authority going to go apeshit and threaten to sue?
Minor difference. (Score:3, Informative)
If google wants to look at the subway time-table and relay that information to someone else, NYC has no right to stop them. Merely taking the NYC subway maps and scaling them for distribution on an iPod does violate copyright.
Re:Minor difference. (Score:2)
Re:NYC Public Transit (Score:2)
Re:NYC Public Transit (Score:2)
NYC's subway has 468 stations and 660 miles of track in passenger service (840 including yards, etc.)
NYC has 1.4 billion annual ridership, while Paris has 1.2 billion.
Moscow has a huge lead though with 3.2 billion
These are just the stats I was able to dig up..
Re:NYC Public Transit (Score:2)
While we are it: Here the Subway of Tokyo [jref.com] and Berlin [www.bvg.de].
Google Power... (Score:2)
ah, but.... (Score:2)
Hey! (Score:2)
Thank heavens for Google Transit Portland (Score:5, Funny)
Dude....you just said....
Re:Thank heavens for Google Transit Portland (Score:2)
For those in or around London, England (Score:5, Informative)
Quite cool; allows you to plot a journey on several different types of public transport. Even includes the amount of time it takes to walk to the station, which makes it really really useful.
Boston MBTA already has this (Score:2)
Since both mapquest and maps.google.com are incapable of providing decent driving maps of the Boston Metro area, this is the best site for trip planning. It will even give you two or more options with each trip, and takes into account things like the time of day and day of week, thus integrating with the actual bus schedules.
It's not exactly a new idea (Score:5, Informative)
The Danish site Rejseplanen [rejseplanen.dk] covers all public transportation in Denmark, from anywhere to anywhere, including address to address, along with estimated times for walking from Point A to Stop B.
As for people entering data into it? Well, that's also new compared to Rejseplanen, but why would you need it, when the site has access to every single itinerary in the country?
Europe has it all together (Score:2)
I think once Google makes this nation(US)-wide, we'll all realise how much we're dependent on cars and how lacking our PT system actually is. This can only be a good thing.
Now, if only trains weren't more expensive th
Re:Europe has it all together (Score:2)
Almost every major city in the USA has not only a bus line, but at least some limited form of commuter rail system. Chicago and San Francisco/Oakland have rail systems that rival those of your pet cities.
But I don't count them as cities. (n/t) (Score:2)
Re:It's not exactly a new idea (Score:2)
Honestly, I think a lot of the problems with health stem from American's overrelia
Re:It's not exactly a new idea (Score:2, Interesting)
Those are not cities boy, they are towns.
Lets see if google ever gets to Mexico city. 35 million people leave there, we have 6 million cars just there, diferent companies providing public transport which cannot even be made to put adult drivers on their busses.
Google.... meh. If they ever attempt mexico city, i promise, theyll go bankrupt.
Re:It's not exactly a new idea (Score:2)
Re:It's not exactly a new idea (Score:2)
Sure, you may have more people, but I'm pretty sure that the public transportation system in Denmark, with its measly 5 million people, is bigger and more complex than the o
Yes, it takes its inspiration from... (Score:2)
Microsoft Live Transit.
This was all predicted in The Road Ahead [microsoft.com].
It's like Nostradamus.
Re:It's not exactly a new idea (Score:3, Interesting)
It'll show you on a map where your nearby bus stops are, and when you plan a journey will show you on a map which stops that you need to catc
Great work! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Great work! (Score:2)
Bus prices.. (Score:2)
Re:"Great work!" (Score:3, Informative)
Google is correct; fares increased a while back. Two zones is now $1.50; all zones is $1.80. Check trimet.org [trimet.org]. And fares are going to increase again on January first, thanks to high diesel prices.
I agree that the trimet trip planner works just as well,
I live in Portland... (Score:4, Informative)
Ottawa, Canada has their own system (Score:4, Interesting)
OCTranspo [octranspo.com]
Re:Ottawa, Canada has their own system (Score:2)
Minneapolis' Metro Transit (Score:2)
Anyway, afterward, the trip planner asked if I wanted to take a survey. They were very blatantly interested in mobile devices and how people use them to utilize their trip planner. At the time I was using the first public iteration of the Sidekick II's OS and it rendered well and was fast to use. At the end of the survey it asked if I wanted to be contacted
Re:Minneapolis' Metro Transit (Score:2)
I meant like SMS capable mobile phones and do something similar to London's Transit System that you can request info by SMS.
Nice attempt at a troll though, almost worked!
Fantastic! (Score:5, Funny)
Good so google can track where I am now! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Good so google can track where I am now! (Score:2)
And if you do have to use public transit to get to your mistresses apartment, don't you have better things to worry about?
Google maps and Firefox? (Score:2)
Anyone else see nothing in the place of a map on Google Maps? I'm using Firefox, and all I get is a big blank image where the map should be...
I live in Detroit (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I live in Detroit (Score:2)
At least where I'm from in Mississauga [Canada for you americans...] I walk 5 minutes to the nearest full featured mall with a proper sit down restaurant.
Tom
NJ Transit (Score:2)
Re:NJ Transit (Score:2)
Use the NJTransit system to check on routes from New Brunswick to Newark. No mention of the Suburban bus that is cheaper and faster than the train (well, faster outside of rush hour).
When in college, I tried writing an app to combine mass transit schedules from NJTransit, Suburban, Coach, TRansbridge, etc., to come up w
Re:NJ Transit (Score:2)
But the point-to-point schedules aren't going to help me much if I want to update a database automatically to reflect schedule changes.
Re:NJ Transit (Score:2)
Accuracy (Score:3, Informative)
My major concern would be that if the CTA's database is private, Google will not be able to ascertain that, and with all mapping software there will be huge problems with the data being up to date. What's the benefit of this over what's already out there? Is there a major city that doesn't already have a trip planner set up on their own?
Seems to be reinventing the wheel.
Soft Target (Score:2)
Clearly a soft target, given the Oregon mindset.
sure this is a good idea.... (Score:2)
That Squishy Sound (Score:5, Interesting)
Big Brother (Score:2, Interesting)
There goes my karma. And I await my Google Overloards Code Red visit tonight.
Re:Big Brother (Score:2)
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.
This would be a godsend (Score:2)
If Google ever comes up with a good ro
Boring (Score:3, Interesting)
Moreover, it's far from implmenting very useful things such as :
- real-time delay (e.g. STIB "synchro" [irisnet.be]) :
- SMS (e.g. the '222 [mct.sbb.ch]' service for all local & national public transport in Switzerland)
* the world.google.com being USA, CA & UK, of course.
Re:Boring (Score:2)
Hell, NJTransit can't even provide itself with real-time delay information, there's no way they can provide it to Google.
I get "instant email alerts" when my trains are delayed -- but those emails are usually sent after my delayed train has already arrived at my destination.
Fantastic. Now just add GPS info (Score:3, Interesting)
What they need to do next is to work with the municipalities* to integrate GPS tracking on all city buses so anyone, anywhere, can get real time info on when the next bus will arrive. No more waiting at the bustop in the rain!
*This probably won't happen, at least in cities like Boston, where the unions have a stranglehold on the public transport system. They are dead set against GPS tracking. They would no longer be able to cover up just how inefficient and horrible they really are. They last thing want is somebody to start compiling databases about their on-time percentages.
Re:Fantastic. Now just add GPS info (Score:2, Interesting)
There was a big scandal in Boston not too long ago about just that happening with (sometimes private contracted) snow plow drivers - they started putting GP
Re:Fantastic. Now just add GPS info (Score:3, Interesting)
"There was a big scandal in Boston not too long ago about just that happening with (sometimes private contracted) snow plow drivers - they started putting GPS on the plows & let's just say there was a lot of sleeping on the job going on & contracted routes just plain not getting plowed."
Funny. About a year ago, the unions were protesting putting GPS on school buses. You should have seen the TV newscast. The union head was frothing at the mouth about 'Big Brother' and John Ashcroft, when all people
Re:Fantastic. Now just add GPS info (Score:2)
They'd also need to work with all the private mass transit companies out there -- most bus lines in the NY area are not operated by the MTA. Who is going to bear the cost of such a system? A lot of the bus companies are nowhere near where they'd need to be to provide that inform
Re:Fantastic. Now just add GPS info (Score:2)
Except that you're talking about potential "Terror Targets (tm)." Security is a big issue, too.
And it's a little more complicated than that, since individual buses don't run the same route every day. You've got to have someone coordinating bus information, dealing with bus changes, dealing with route changes due to c
hope this continues (Score:2)
One of the biggest problems with public transportation nowindays is the general lack of consolidated information about bus/train schedules.
I particularly like the cost comparison to driving. That said, this makes it *really* easy to see how poorly the mass transit system works in certain areas. In one of the examples [google.com] listed on the front page, a route that would norm
Re:hope this continues (Score:2)
That assumes that your metric is time. However, if your metric is cost, the public transit will almost always be cheaper (based on IRS mileage rates). Furthermore, transit systems have a another metric, which is coverage. What good is a fast transit system if it only takes you between a limited number of locations? This is especially important if you don't own a car, as walking will almost always be the
Portland only???? (Score:2)
Re:Portland only???? (Score:2)
Can Google keep them running on schedule too? (Score:2)
While I find this service fantastic, I bet not even Google can keep the public transit system running on time :) There goes the karma!
gasmonso http://religiousfreaks.com/ [religiousfreaks.com]Old news? (Score:2, Informative)
Google Sliced Bread (Score:2)
Cost of driving is just a business deductable ... (Score:2)
If they could add in taxi information, it would really rock.
Kansas City Public Transit Should Be Next... (Score:2)
Input starting location.
Input destination.
Step 1: Buy a car.
Welcome to 2000 (Score:2, Informative)
We don't.... (Score:2)
What's really cool about Google (Score:2)
DC Metro Trip Planner (Score:4, Insightful)
Metro Trip Planner [wmata.com]
I always though that most major metro areas with well-developed public transit systems had something like this.
DC Metro Trip Planner, which used to really bite (Score:2)
It didn't recognize addresses outside of the District proper
It would punt altogether if there was no bus or rail service within a mile of your starting point.
These two together broke the service for about half the area covered by Metrorail.
It has apparently improved on the first point, but still loses on the second. If you tell it you're starting from a suburban Metro station, it works pretty well getting you into a
Ottawa's Travel Planner (Score:2)
has a transit planner.
http://www.octranspo.com/tps/jnot/startEN.oci [octranspo.com]
most cities do now.
but what I would like to See is something that combines
Travel Planners with Diffrent Cities, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, New York...etc
with a Travel Planner for
various Out of City Travel Methods
Grey Hound, Via Rail, Air Canada...
With Options like Optimize for Price or Speed.
so it would tell me something like
1. Take Ottawa's #2 to downtown (15min)
2. Take Grey hounds bus to Toronto (6hours)
3.
CTA has had this for a while... (Score:3, Informative)
"beta"... (Score:2)
Truly brilliant. Since it's become an industry standard to never release software that actually works and refuse to want to support it, just always call it "beta". People will still snatch it up in droves but you can always deflect any responsibility for problems since it is "beta" after all.
Hell, some places CHARGE for "beta" software. Go figure.
Now they just need to cull data (Score:2)
How long until... (Score:2)
Broken in Safari? (Score:3, Informative)
I tried out Google Transit and was like "that's not very useful... it's the same information as Google Maps gives you"
Using Firefox I can see what the BFD is.
Dupe by Google; try Métro (Score:3, Informative)
Not only is Métro more mature, it's completely portable/finished/polished product with a large and stable support base.
I've personally used it to great effect plotting subway routes in my vacations to Tokyo, Japan and NYC, New York.
Re:Examples (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Examples (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Asthmatic Hum-Vee? (Score:2, Insightful)