Google Maps Adds Walking, Public Transit Directions
Yesterday, as I got into my car to go to the grocery store to pick up some soy milk and cereal, a pang of guilt struck me when I realised I could very easily walk to the grocery store to the accomplish the same.
I pulled the keys out of the ignition as I succumbed to my inner hippie and began schlepping to the grocery store.
It seems Google's been feeling the same type of guilt, as they've now added the ability to get walking directions on Google Maps.
... But they didn't stop there - as I tested the new feature out in Miami, I saw a third option available - Public Transit! It gives you exactly which bus routes to take with a schedule for each route along the way. The path is clearly marked with icons to show you when you'll have to walk and when you can take the bus.
Now if only Apple and Google would add this functionality to the Maps application on the iPhone, I'd be all set! (Get on it, Apple!)
It seems today is Google's day for green initiatives!
Walking Directions Now Available On Google Maps [TreeHugger]
[via: Coolest-Gadgets]
Den Den Boy
Posted to In the World, On Your Desk on 24 July 2008
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: directions, environmentally friendly, Google, Google Maps, green, walking
I was going to give a shout out (yes I still live in the 90s) to a previous employer and say Ask City has had walking directions for some time. But it looks like Ask City is currently having issues (they've switched to Virtual Earth). Oops.
I know it sounds weird to want walking directions, but if you live near a freeway it's a great way to figure out which streets you can walk across.
This is pretty much the best thing ever for a city dweller like me who also loves wandering into dangerous neighborhoods to get shot and stabbed.
These have actually been in service for at least the last half year. I was visiting Seattle when my friend's roommate clued us into it. It made navigating Seattle's public transit system a breeze! I think this is one of the best thing's Google has put out in a long time.
Yeah, from what MuddBstrd said, in Seattle they have had the busses on for a while, I wonder if they just slowly roll it out as it becomes available from the local transit systems. I think the walk feature is awesome though as I like to play with the GPS on my iPhone while walking, it would be nice to get that feature on the iPhone (if you zoom in on the maps with the street overlay on it already shows the bus stops as a little blue icon). I have noticed that the bus schedules arent always 100% accurate though. I missed a bus the other dya because it gave me the wrong time, but it always gets the bus numbers right and you can typically double check the times on your local transit site.