ctrl.altered.mind

Google is moving two of their projects even closer in an effort to encourage the use of public transportation in the US (where available). Google Transit is an online tool to view public transit systems and schedules, and even allows you to create your own transit trip, along with itineraries and maps. It is now being integrated with Google Maps, which is arguably the most innovative online tool for locating points of interest and finding directions.

See this example. Searching for these directions on Google Maps now presents users with an alternative to driving - taking public transit.

The display presents a list of suggested alternatives (with icons representing modes of transportation), along with estimated travel times in each case. You have the option to select routes based on preferred departure or arrival times. The trip even provides fare information when available (with a helpful comparison to the estimated cost of driving). The method of calculating the estimated cost of driving has not yet been elaborated upon in the FAQ - that formula would be quite interesting to note (for people who, unfortunately, have to rely on driving everywhere).

Walking directions to and from the transit stations is currently in the form of an arrow, as Google doesn’t yet offer detailed walking routes (although in the example above, the estimated times seem pretty accurate).

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 8th, 2007 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Google.