editor Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Got this press release the other day. METRO GETS ‘REAL’ WITH GOOGLE METRO’s partnership with Google is getting real – as in offering real-time bus info. To sweeten the ‘real’ deal, METRO will also be providing Google with detour alerts as well. “We are focused on improving the customer experience,” said METRO Board Chairman Gilbert Garcia. “Not only will our customers know when their bus will arrive, but if there’s a detour in place on their route, that information will pop up and they can factor this in their plans, too.” If for any reason a bus loses connectivity – as the GPS information is transmitted via cellular communications – trips posted will revert to the bus’ scheduled times. About 77 percent of METRO’s bus fleet is currently equipped with the hardware to provide real-time bus information. The agency is working to bring the remainder of the fleet online. As a reminder – the agency offers other rider toolssuch as the METRO T.R.I.P. app which helps customers on-the-go plan their trip using scheduled and real-time information, among other features. “METRO is the first major transit agency, that we’re aware of, to develop its own stand-alone transit app,” said METRO President & CEO Tom Lambert. “We are trying to make it easier for our customers to navigate our system by bringing these types of tools to their fingertips.” METRO first teamed up with Google in 2008 by sharing its schedules which were loaded into Google Maps for quick, easy trip planning. Of the two trip plannersMETRO offers on its website, about 50 percent use Google Maps. The agency’s trip planner will continue to be available to customers but will be phased out in the future. METRO's real-time data on Google Maps rolls out Friday, April 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I think other cities have transit apps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livincinco Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I think other cities have transit apps They'll be phasing them out as well. It's much more efficient to integrate with Google and the other major map players. Better for the end users as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Can somebody explain how this works? I understand how to get a transit routing between any two points on Google Maps. It will give me multiple options. Is it simply that the times shown for the soonest routings represent real time data? Is there any way to actually show the exact location of a bus on the map in real-time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Vik Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Hop stop is better in New York but in general google maps is good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Tried this out and didn't notice anything different. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToryGattis Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Tried this out and didn't notice anything different. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Same here. If somebody understands how this works, please explain. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 I've found the "real time" maps (airplanes, university bus) to be still pretty unreliable, with always a significant delay: not always BIG, but enough that you could miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livincinco Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Can somebody explain how this works? I understand how to get a transit routing between any two points on Google Maps. It will give me multiple options. Is it simply that the times shown for the soonest routings represent real time data? Is there any way to actually show the exact location of a bus on the map in real-time?When I tried it, the page listed that it was showing live departure times. I didn't see anything that would allow actual locations. My guess is that it's just maintaining an estimated schedule for each stop and is providing that information to Google.They're obviously tracking the exact location of each bus, but might not be sharing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonIsHome Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Has anyone gotten this to work? The metrotrip app has a real time feature but it is only reliable if the bus is on time. It the bus is supposed to be there in ten minutes it tells you it will be there in ten but if the bus is early or late it doesn't say that until the bus has arrived. For example if the bus has four minutes left to arrive and it suddenly arrives, it goes from 4 minutes to one minute instantly. If you are not already waiting, then it is useless to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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