In 2008, Google Transit pulled up into the New York and New Jersey areas and took in a few passengers.
They launched partnerships with New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the people who run the subways and buses, and New Jersey’s own NJT, which get commuters into Manhattan and around the Garden State.
Over the last few years, my own commuting has been cut back, so I had less need for Transit.
But recently I’ve been making more trips into Manhattan and find myself forever having to download the latest NJT schedules.
I decided to try out Google Transit, letting it plot a plan of attack to get me from my house into New York City using our area’s public transportation system.
In Googly fashion, you enter your approximate starting point and destination in abbreviated English, and the algorithmic genies map out a route.
Google Transit is quite well informed about all my commuting possibilities, some I hadn’t considered before or found the logistics too overwhelming. Transit presented several options, using both information from train and bus schedules and deep knowledge of the location of NJT stops and stations.
And yes, Transit lets you know the time of the next scheduled train.
So I could take a direct train into Manhattan from an NJT station about two blocks from my house.
Or if I miss that train, Transit tells me that I can instead hop on a bus that would take me to Newark’s Broad Street, a major rail hub, from where I have far greater choice of trains.
One of Google Transit’s creative commuting solutions.
Transit had also worked out a complex option involving a bus to Newark’s light transit rail line and then to the NJT train system.
I’ve known about that option, using it every so often, but it involves coordinating several different schedules. With Google Transit, the connections are all worked out. And no doubt for many commuters who thought there was only way to get around, Google Transit will generate more than a few ‘aha’ moments.
Transit covers over 400 cities, including San Diego, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia, along with a growing list of cities around the world— Budapest has just hopped on board
I am impressed.
Related articles
- Google Transit Expands to New York (nytimes.com)
- A Look at Google Transit in the Silicon Prairie (siliconprairienews.com)
- Google Transit
