Google Transit ~ Please map Chicago, PLEASE!
Google launched their Transit trip planner two years ago in multiple cities, Seattle, San Francisco, Tampa?, Pittsburgh?, but sadly Chicago was not one of them. Currently, Chicagoans can use the CTA’s own Transit Planner with its lovely scrolling red announcement on the top of the screen. I have used the trip planner for several years and it definitely works and provides accurate information. However, its lacking a few nicer touches that I think Google could provide:
- Maps - It would be nice to see where these routes go and what areas of the city they passed through.
- Local Restaurants and businesses - With Google maps, you can search for things around certain areas or intersections. What if I wanted to get off the train along my route, grab some dinner, and then get back on. Centerstage does a good job of that with their Virtual L, but it’s still not as robust as it could be. The one nice thing that the CTA does provide is landmarks of the city. So if I want to go from Loyola’s campus on the north side to Chinatown, I don’t have to pick a specific address and can just go on the thing’s I already know. Google maps currently uses their search algorithm to do best guesses on addresses, unless you are very specific.
- Exportability and Sharing - Currently Google has the ability to link to any map or route via Google Maps. This would be a nice feature for a route. For instance, my sister was just in town and it would have been nice to set up a route for her to take from Union Station to my place in Rogers Park instead of either writing it all down and making a mistake or trying to tell her over the phone.
- A nice looking interface - Although Google is usually visually minimalistic, they do it for a reason - to present only the information you need when you need it. The CTA’s trip planner, although not gaudy, just has a clunky feel to it as if it’s a broken toy that still kind of works, but you can hear parts jiggling around on the inside when you shake it.
So Google, you did other major cities, what gives?
Great Maps:
- Chicago Transit Google Map
- Chicago Ipod Subway Map
- Dadnab - Plan your chicago route to look like a cell phone?
- PublicRoutes.com - These guys are actually pretty good, aside from excessive advertising
- NY City Transit Google Map
Or you can use these guys and see a bunch of ads during your trip planning. They do have a nice feature for when you walk out of your transit stop though, which is always a bit disorienting.
6 Comments so far
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jeff, great blog. i studied usability at stanford undergrad, so i’ve always had many of the same issues with new sites, apps, and features that i’ve come across here.
Jeff, I believe the reason that Google has not made a transit map yet for Chicago is that the CTA is an immense system, second only to New York’s (in the United States) and in order to make it work it requires information to be shared by the city and CTA. The CTA, as I’m sure you’re aware, is a giant cluster f*ck and I hardly believe that their top priority is to Google. Their own trip planner hasn’t been updated in forever(?) - except for recently when they made it so that you can route trips by bus only due to the construction rerouting.
If you need proof that the CTA intentionally makes things difficult you only have to look at their online schedules. The schedules are only available as PDFs on their website which makes it more of a chore to get to the information - which is why my CTA Google map only links to the PDF schedules for each station. I only wish I had the time or resources to extract the scheduling information so that I could use it myself.
My map is nearly 2 years old and, unfortunately I don’t see it being trumped by Google any time soon.
Jeff, I got your response to my comment and I just have one other thing to say that I think will better explain my point on the complexity of mapping out the CTA with Google Transit and it goes back to getting tie-in and support from the CTA. Here’s why: Google Transit can only be successful if it’s accurate. If it’s even minutely inaccurate then it will wind up confusing and angering A LOT of people. That’s bad for Google even though it might not be their fault. Take for instance all of the station closures. Do you know all of the stations that are currently closed? Do you know which stations are closed on which weekends? Just last weekend the CTA shut down the Brown Line going south past Armitage. If Google Transit was up and running for the CTA and their system didn’t reflect these closures then I’m sure you can image who people would initially blame. Unless someone at the CTA is there to update the information for Google (how long does it take the CTA to update their own website?) then Google will be seen as providing misinformation. I almost think Google should be afraid of what could happen.
If the CTA designers couldn’t get it right, what makes you think Google can?
I kiiiiid.
But who knows?
Just a clarification about Dadnab: it is primarily a text messaging service. So the idea isn’t to “plan your route to look like a cell phone”, but to enable you to plan your trips via text messaging:
1. Send text message to chicago@dadnab.com (other adresses are defined for Austin, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, and the NY/NY/Connecticut tri-state areas).
2. In your message, specify your origin and destination and optional time (e.g. “chicago board of trade to roosevelt & clark by 8 am”).
3. Receive a text message with your itinerary.
You can also submit queries via the Dadnab web site, but it’s mainly for demo purposes.