Google Transit Vancouver
It seems like Translink is finally coming up with some new ways of implementing time-saving technology to help with the growing transit-induced frustration in the region.
They have the recently-launched i-Move.ca, but what I find most helpful are MyBus, TextBus etc. – apps and services that give you the info so you can plan your trip and get going. Things might be changing soon as Google took Translink by the hand and is introducing a brand spankin’ new Google Transit for Vancouver. Here’s an early review:
It turns out that Google Transit Vancouver is live: if you visit http://www.google.com/transit and type in directions for two points in Vancouver, you’ll get reasonably good routes. Some are reasonable, like getting from Port Moody to Waterfront Station (it recommends the 160 in the afternoon, and the West Coast Express in the morning, though it shows it as a straight line hovering over Burnaby and Vancouver). Some aren’t so great: getting from my work to UBC they recommend taking the #4 or the #8 all the way, when I would have suggested getting to Broadway and Granville via the multiple ways to do that, then take the #99 B-Line express bus to the university campus. But still, did you see that? I can now directly link to transit directions so that I can share it online. [Just a Gwailo]
All skepticism aside, this is a step in the right direction. They do have system maps in PDF form tucked away on their site but those are hardly precise and barely informative. We’ll see how it goes and what will happen on November 1, when it is officially launched.
Oh, I was so excited to read this. Then I plugged in a test to see how it thought I should travel from home to an address near Kits Beach, and it sent me all the way out to Marpole instead… *sigh*
Goodbye Translink trip planner ugliness. Hello Google sweetness.
Good! Sounds fun.
Cool. A couple months back I sent an email to Translink asking them to publish their schedules on Google Transit. I never received a reply. But now here it is. Nice.
I still don’t know how to trackback, Rebecca, so here’s the link to my link where I link to your post (see? I am convoluted).
http://hummingbird604.blogspot.com/2007/11/google-transit-vancouver-link-love.html
Though very cool, it would be much cooler if they made their feed public! Portland, San Fransisco and Dallas have already made the jump…
http://code.google.com/transit/spec/transit_feed_specification.htm
But in any case it’s sure cool to hit the landing page and see Vancouver as the only city in Canada that supports it!
Google just implemented this on their own site, making this a HUGE waist of time.
http://www.google.com/transit
Yes, Google Transit is what we’re talking about here Josh, not sure I follow what you’re getting at…