4 Comments

Google Transit graduates from Labs, still sucks

October 4, 2007 by in News with 4 Comments

gtsucks.jpg

Before I start, let me say that I’m sure Google Transit– which tells you how to get from point A to point B using public transportation– works very well for people living in bumfuck Idaho or one of the other under-populated cities supported by the new service, but I assert that it nonetheless continues to suck.

It’s all very nice and all that Google is making an effort to support traditionally under-served localities, but is it really possible to take this kind of service seriously when it doesn’t support the places where people actually use public transport.

Trying to get from Brooklyn to Times Square? You’re out of luck. The Embarcadero to the Golden Gate Bridge? Try again. Sure, there is support for BART, but to really get around San Francisco, you’re going to have to hop on MUNI eventually. [via]

Hackers have been doing this kind of thing for ages, so what’s keeping big G from catching up?


  • http://digitalfather.com Vinny

    What US Transit Mapping program doesn’t start with NYC? There are lots of great domestic mass transit systems, but the one that is the most f’d up is NYC. Start there and work out the kinks. It makes every other system roll out like buttah.

    When I start a project, I start with the most difficult data to manage. It allows me to work out the kins before I build an entire system that can’t accommodate the worst of it.

  • John

    Awful post. This kind of attitude is why I left NYC…also, Idaho is not on there.

    Btw, it’s great having it living in Portland ;-)

  • http://www.myspace.com/AlexTheMartian Alex B

    *waits for Los Angeles to be added* :-P multiple bus agengcies throughout the county with a metro rail system added to the mix. Los Angeles bus system is as complicated as its freeway system. and yeah we have a subway too.

  • http://nextinsight.com cary

    I own a transit transportation company which helps get agencies and cities on Google Transit. (I also live in brooklyn btw). The reason they didn’t start with NYC is because the amount of data for the NYC system is so large, that if they attempted to do it first, it would take them forever to find all the bugs, manage the data, and fix all the little quirks. So they started with small agencies to try and perfect the trip planning algorithm first.

    We are currently working with a number of agencies to get their data on Google Transit, and it’s only a matter of time before the entire country’s public and private transportation network is on Google Transit.

    If you want your city on google transit, contact your local transit agency and send them to http://nextinsight.com

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