Public Transit on Google Maps
06/18/2008
I don’t know when they started doing this, but I just noticed it today: Google Maps now includes an option to get directions for taking public transit. It even shows alternate routes that you can take. This is awesome. I hate trying to find public transportation information from CTA/RTA/Metra.
I don’t know what other cities this has been rolled out in, but it’ll definitely make getting around Chicago easier!
It’s in a weird subset of cities. It’s really up to individual transit agencies to provide data to Google for integration. Los Angeles, except for a few odd bits of municipal transit, is not one of the cities (on the other hand, Portland, where I spent a few days last week, is, which was quite handy). They first rolled it out about a year ago, and it’s been slowly spreading.
Just to add a bit more info, it’s only CTA data which is in google maps right now, so you won’t get help getting to the ‘burbs with this. I’ve generally found that the CTA system map is generally sufficiently rational, that even being out of the city for 4 years, I can still get most places without having to look at a map.
If you’re like me though, and don’t take it too often, or only know a couple of routes, this is definitely a major plus. The El system is pretty straight forward, but the bus system can be pretty daunting!
It’s too bad it’s just the CTA for now. But, if you’re coming from the ‘burbs, you just need the schedule for the train closest to you. There’s not much to that.