Google surely had us poor carless souls in mind when it created a new feature in Google Maps for mobile and desktop: live transit updates.
The new feature alerts you when your preferred mode of public transportation is actually going to arrive rather than when the schedule says it will.
A post on the official Google blog reads, “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. 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.”
Live transit updates are currently available in Boston, Portland, Ore., San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid and Turin.
By clicking on a station or by planning a route in Google Maps, live transit updates will alert you of any real-time delays related to your trip. It will also give you “live departure times” and service alerts.
Google plans to roll out the service in additional cities in the coming months.
Live transit updates are availble on all Google Map supported browsers plus Google Maps for mobile on Android 1.6 or higher.
