April 27, 2008
Google Relieves Your Muni Frustrations
There's something new on your Google Map: Muni! We're so happy about this, we don't even want to ask why it took so damn long (BART's been on Google Transit since forever). Now at last you can toggle trips from Driving Directions to Transit Directions, and it's smart enough to understand transfers -- for example, here's a trip from Berkeley to Ocean Beach via BART and Muni.
Unfortunately, for just about any trip we could think up, the driving times were always dramatically shorter than the transit times, so this isn't exactly encouraging people to give up their cars. Le sigh.
Two features that Google Transit doesn't have: route overlays, so you can see what lines are close to you; and NextBus data. The trip planning is all based on schedules; and as we know, Muni has a very casual relationship with timeliness. But interestingly, according to Muni, that's not their fault -- it's Google's. Google Transit uses a very specific framework for transit data, and they don't support real-time vehicle tracking or route overlays.
But this is still a great way to figure out how to get from here to there -- for example, just type "haight and stanyan to el rio taqueria" in a regular old Google search, and ta-da! You're just a 40-minute ride away from meeting up with your friends (versus 13 if you had a car). Now, remind us again why we're still paying millions of dollars in bridge tolls for 511.org's awful trip planner?
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Don't you mean "relive"?
If only Google would calculate how long it takes to find a parking spot - that might even the score a little...
It is ironic and disengenuous of Google to offer this (frankly, not very useful service). Aren't they sending those Gray buses with no logos that are block traffic on Fillmore, Divisadero (often parking in Muni bus stops and blocking Muni as well) and probably other streets, picking up their employees and taking them to work. Pity they and their people aren't supporting public transportation. After all, there is very good Muni service to the Caltrain station and regular trains to the South Bay.
There is Muni service to Caltrain, but it takes about 3x longer than biking there.
But yes, Google's commitment to the environment holds up about as long as it takes to say "767".
Hmm... I don't see the point about complaining about the Google buses (other than to just complain), they are engaging in good traffic demand management (it would be better of course if the offices weren't in a suburban location), relieving congestion and removing cars from the road. And considering how overtaxed Muni is right now, the more that can be done with alternate shuttle services the better.
@sfistJonathan
I think under MTA's plan for congestion car parking pricing, they are actually going to be able to have something like you want.
I understand that 1000s of parking spaces on the street and in garages will get a pressure sensitive chip under them, so a central computer can feedback to PDA [etc] applications when/where spots are open... The same system will control the pricing at each meter, and raise/lower it as they want...
Imagine how fab it will work. It makes my mouth tremble and drool.
Google buses are elitist. We demand that they break down and arrive late with the same frequency as Muni.
"You're just a 40-minute ride away from meeting up with your friends (versus 13 if you had a car)"
**SCREEEECH** Ummmm, that is WRONG.
You're just a 40-minute ride away from meeting up with your friends (versus 43 if you had a car, since after a 13 minute drive you then spent 1/2 HOUR failing to find a parking space, and then got a ticket for parking in a bus zone).
Uhh, this thing isn't all that useful. When getting from my house to the Sunset, which I do a lot, it suggested that I take the 24 half away around the city to the 91 owl (which only runs in the middle of the night of course).
It recommended that rather than the 48, which stops 2 blocks from my house, or the 35 which stops 1 block from my house, or the 33 which stops 5 blocks from my house. Needs some work google...
Bah. Ingrates.
Can someone please explain to me the hatred for 511's trip planner? I use it probably once a month or so if I'm going to a new place, and I've found it really helpful, esp. with the nextmuni times built in..
I think this is awesome. Definitely an improvement.
The 511 trip planner was a piece of crap because whenever you punched-in an exact address into the system, it would stop you and force you to choose a range of addresses.
For example:
123 Fake Street (I input this information)
511's message: Choose 100-120 Fake Street, 121-130 Fake Street, etc.
And sometimes, it doesn't even know what the hell you are asking.
I attended a focus group sponsored by the MTC about the 511 system, and I was blunt to them, I told them that the system sucked and it needed a major revamp. That was over four years ago.