Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development
    • IT Management
    • Servers
    • Small Business

    Google Maps Rolls Out Public Transit Tracker

    By
    Nathan Eddy
    -
    June 9, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Search engine giant Google rolled out a public transportation tracker for four U.S. cities and two European cities June 9, making all the more frustrating for straphangers to know that, yes, your train is going to be delayed. The company partners with Boston, Portland, Ore., San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid and Turin transportation networks to offer live transit tracking on Google Maps for mobile and desktop.

      When you click on a transit station or plan a transit route with Google Maps and there are delays or alerts related to your trip, you’ll now see “live departure times,” indicated with a special icon, and service alerts. Sasha Gontmakher, a software engineer at Google, posted a blog entry explaining how the service works. Gontmakher also noted they are working with public transit partners to help them provide live data to more people in more cities.

      “Often when I’m taking public transit, I arrive at my stop on time only to anxiously check my watch and look down the street for my bus, which is running late once again,” Gontmakher wrote. “Those extra minutes I’m forced to wait seem like an eternity, and the only information I can access on my phone is when the bus was supposed to arrive.”

      Public transit participants can get live transit updates in the latest version of Google Maps for mobile (which requires Android 1.6+), as well as Google Maps on all supported desktop and mobile browsers. In May, the company announced a partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to add all of the nation’s capital’s Metro and bus stations, stops and routes, as well as connections to other transit systems in nearby cities.

      Users can find this information on Google Maps as well as Google Maps for mobile-no matter where users are, they can get to where they’re going. With Google Transit, D.C. metro-area commuters-including those in Baltimore, Montgomery and Jefferson counties-may discover a quicker route to work, while visitors can make their way from the airport straight to the Smithsonian museums, for example.

      Even if you aren’t taking public transportation to get around, Google offers an application to help navigate around congestion: Google Maps Navigation is an Internet-connected GPS navigation system with voice guidance that allows users to search by voice, along routes for businesses and popular service facilities such as gas stations and parking, and automatically switches to street view as the destination nears.

      In traffic mode, an indicator glows green, yellow or red based on the current traffic along the route. Users can touch the route to see traffic ahead of them. Even after you’ve left the car, Google Maps Navigation can help, offering a walking navigation feature with voice navigation that vibrates to indicate when you should turn.

      Nathan Eddy
      A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan was perviously the editor of gaming industry newsletter FierceGameBiz and has written for various consumer and tech publications including Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, CRN, and The Times of London. Currently based in Berlin, he released his first documentary film, The Absent Column, in 2013.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×