There are a bunch of things that I haven’t been writing about but have been meaning to for a long time now. So let’s take a moment to highlight some really cool things that have popped up in the world of the internets that make transit, at least in Vancouver, easier to deal with.
Google Transit – This is a really cool expansion to Google Maps, and it has only been in operation for the past month or so. I probably don’t use it as much as I should, but how great is it when you can pull up a Google Map with the location of the nearest bus stop? It’s still in development, but there are certainly good uses coming from it right now.
i-Move.ca – Take Google Maps and add real time traffic information. If you are traveling from one end of the city to the other, take a peak at what’s going on with the roads. If it looks bad, then maybe the SkyTrain is the better route to go. Not much different than listening to the radio for traffic updates, but there is a lot of information at your fingertips if you don’t want to wait for the next traffic update to cycle around on the radio.
MyBus – This is a Facebook application that I think I’ve mentioned before, but I had a chance to talk to one of the developers of this wonderful tool today. Add it to your Facebook profile, put in a list of common bus stops, i.e. the one closest to your house, and it updates with the time of the next five buses that will be coming to those stops. Also gives you a much better reason to log into Facebook before you leave for work in the morning, not to mention when you leave work in the late afternoon.
Still, with all these tools are your disposal, getting around Metro Vancouver can still be a pain. At least these things help make sense of it all. If you know of more, make a comment.
Post edit (Dec. 10, 2007)
Next Bus – Rebecca actually blogged about this awhile ago, but it’s something that I haven’t personally tried until this morning. Actually, Rebecca even tried it out in front of me the other morning, and it’s impressive. The way it works is if you are standing at a TransLink bus stop, you will see a numeric code on the sign. Send a SMS, or text message, to “33333” with the code on the sign in the body, and you will receive the next four or five buses that will be arriving at that location. Trying it out this morning, it took about ten seconds after sending the SMS to get a reply. Very useful when you fall out of your normal travel times or are in an unfamiliar location. (This is the only link I found on TransLink’s site about the service.)
Thanks for the links, John.
Unfortunately, IMNSHO, the number of transit sites in Europe at Google Transit is greatly underrepresented. I understand that this is a selection effect since Google is based in the Bay Area and is an American company, but it should always be reminded that European mass-rapid systems have been established and functioned longer than their North American counterparts. I’m sure others have thought the same, but I would repeat the idea that the European examples are worth examining.