A look at Google Transit
I hate using the 511.org Trip Planner, which is the only integrated solution for mass transit trip planning in San Francisco. The interface and functionality can be maddening–maps are displayed separately from directions, locations can’t be saved, and the maps are horrible to navigate around in. I always end up using a combination of 511.org and Google Maps in order to fully plan out my trips.
Enter Google Transit, which may be the saviour for people that are tortured daily by mediocre local mass transit planning sites.
The interface for Transit is identical to Maps: you simply type in the origin and destination, and Google calculates the best route. In this case, however, Google assumes that you can use the local transit system. The result are directions to your destination broken out into walking and transit segments.
A nice feature is that Transit allows you to choose between different transit times–for example, you can either choose to board the bus at 1pm, or earlier at 12:30pm. The map and directions update instantly, complete with estimates of walking times.
Google Transit currently works on a few select transit systems, including Portland’s TriMet, Orange County’s OCTA, and Honolulu’s TheBus. I’m definitely going to keep my eye on Transit as it expands to other cities.
And, maybe, I’ll just be rid of 511.org for good.
Categories - Maps, Google, Google Transit | 
January 4th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Thanks for the tip! I hate using TripPlanner too. I emailed them once to complain about the interface and I got a pretty lame government agency response.
January 8th, 2007 at 6:26 am
Another reason to be jealous of Americans… These kind of features are not gonna happen very fast in Belgium I’m afraid. Our market is just too small (10 milion people, 60pct speaking Dutch, 40pct speaking French).
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:42 am
Why is it necessary for google to control the world? We already have www.hopstop.com so why is it necessary for google to do what’s already been done? Can you guys please think of something original?
February 16th, 2007 at 1:48 am
I truly hate google transit. Their walking directions are ridiculous, at least in Pittsburgh.
To travel from my university to the science center where I volunteer, they suggest that I take a bus downtown, “walk” (swim) across the river, walk 10 feet, and then swim across the river again to the other side.
If you are not familiar with Pittsburgh, there are three main rivers, and downtown comes to a triangle outlined by the three. There are bridges EVERYWHERE and the fact that google doesn’t discriminate between water and land makes google transit ridiculous and not very helpful. Additionally, they suggest walking routes that are as the crow flies but not practical anywhere with buildings…