Google Transit

[TheBostonian]

Use Google Maps to find how to get somewhere via public transit:

http://www.google.com/transit

They are starting with Portland (OR). This is a great idea. Anyone looking for driving directions will be able to easily get public transit directions. And you'll be able to compare travel times.

[Recchia]

WOW... I love Google. They are truly innovative. Can't wait til they get this up for more cities.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

I like how it tells you how much cost you will save taking transit.

[Neo]

Amazing feature!

[blink55184]

google will take over the world one day.

GoogleGovernment.

GoogleBrain.

[MadVlad]

I wish they'd open GOogle-East in Hartford, we need some new blood, badly...

[Spartan]

That is awsome. A lot of potential there. Kinda makes me wish I lived in Portland so that I could use this thing.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Very cool. Hopstop has been around for NYC for a while (http://www.hopstop.com) and I always thought that was a great idea. Awesome to see there's enough support for a "public transit Mapquest" elsewhere too.

[blink55184]

this is the coolest one ive seen yet,only for NYC.

click where you start...click where you want to go, and it hooks you up with the best subway route.

pretty good system.

http://www.brail.org/transit/nycgoogle.html

It will even tell you if just walking will get you there faster.

[DigitalSky]

pretty neat stuff!

[orulz]

I hope Google takes this thing national. A lot of transit agencies have their own trip planners (here in the NC triangle we have gotriangle.org, but it's only internal to the region.

I've seen this sort of trip planner in Japan, but they don't include city bus routes or generate maps, unfortunately. They are accessible from a cell phone, and calculate routes, fares, time all your transfers, and search from a database of nearly every ferry, airline, intercity bus, intercity train, and urban heavy/light rail system in the country.

I guess for a national transit navigator to be successful, there would have to be a standard format and a national database of transit routes (presumably maintained by the FTA or some government agency) updated every time a flight, bus route, or train schedule changes. Fare calculation would also be difficult, based on the unpredictable nature of airline fares. Not likely to happen in my lifetime!