Metrolink debuts on Google Transit

Metrolink schedules are now available on Google Transit. You can access the trip-planning service at the Metrolink website, Google Transit website or through the Google maps home page. You type in your starting point and ending destination and Google Transit gives you a list of trains that will get you there. The most recent 2.2 software update for the iPhone also makes it much easier to use Google Transit on the maps feature.

There remains one huge glitch with Google Transit, and it's not Metrolink's fault. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has been in talks with Google Transit about providing its bus and train scheduling data, but the talks haven't gone anywhere.

So while many other large cities (New York and Chicago, to name two) are on Google Transit, we're stuck here in the technological backwater known as Los Angeles County. So if you want MTA schedules, you've got to get them through the Metro website, which is loaded with cumbersome and slow-loading pdf files for many schedules.

The net effect of this is that you can only get Metrolink schedules from Google Transit. In some cases, that may be all you need, but if you also want connections to local buses or rail, it's not there. At least not yet.

The news release from Metrolink is after the jump.

--Steve Hymon

News Release
Metrolink Launches New Online Trip Planner
Regional Rail Authority Adopts Google Transit Trip Planner and Encourages Other Public Transit Agencies to Join the Online Movement

LOS ANGELES, CA, November 24, 2008:  Today, Metrolink, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, unveiled a new interactive tool on its Web site (www.metrolinktrains.com) to help riders incorporate the use of public transit into their business and leisure travels.  In adopting the Google Transit Trip Planner system, Metrolink riders can now access step-by-step transit directions, find transit stops in their area and view station information and schedules.  Metrolink is also making its schedule available in the open Google Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), a platform that incorporates route data into Google Maps and other Google applications.

“As mass transit is becoming an increasingly popular form of reliable, cost-effective and energy-efficient transportation, we are pleased to launch the Google Transit Trip Planner in an effort to make Metrolink and public transit more accessible,” said Ron Roberts, Chair, Metrolink Board of Directors.  “But to have a truly functional regional trip planner offering a comprehensive list of transit options, we need all area mass transit agencies to join us in this data-sharing effort.  Working together, we can develop an effective system that will make it easier for our customers to take advantage of public transit resources.”

Since launching the service in 2006, the list of agencies participating on Google Transit has grown tremendously and the system now covers 75 cities across 14 countries. 

“We are pleased to have Metrolink’s participation in the Google Transit system as we share a common interest in encouraging the increased use of public transportation, “said Jessica Wei, Strategic Partner Development Manager for Google Transit.  “As an industry-leading commuter rail provider, we hope that Metrolink’s involvement will encourage other agencies to adopt this service and experience the shared benefits of this valuable consumer tool.”

Metrolink is Southern California’s regional commuter rail service and is in its 15th year of operations. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority, a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs the service. Metrolink continues to be one of the nation’s fastest growing commuter rail services, operating over seven routes through a six-county 512 route-mile network.

Comments

[Tommy]

the MTA's mobile website is terrible and requires a whole menu tree just to access a trip planner - no timetables, no easy access, etc. and you can't access their normal website from a mobile address, even with a smartphone that has a normal browser.

all this and we're left in the dark when it comes to google maps - MTA should've been one of the first agencies to jump on this opportunity, not the last. what a disgrace to our transportation system.

[David Galvan]

I have an iphone, and the public transit option on the "Maps" google application is just fantastic. Tell it your origin and destination (or just your destination, as the 3G iphone already knows your location), and it will tell you what bus to take, the time table for that bus or train, and what stop to get off at. It even lets you choose a preferred arrival or departure time, and adjusts the possible routes accordingly. Of course, in L.A. this only works for metrolink (though I heard that some municipal bus systems have got on board with google. . . Burbank maybe?), but I pretended I was in NYC and tried out the app and it seems to work very well. Add in the google-street-view which shows you what the corner where the bus stop is looks like from ground level, and you're covered.

The google solution is several times better than MTA's NexTrip tool. I don't want to insult MTA, as the existing tools (NexTrip and the Trip Planner) are actually quite useful. But Google is just better. Plain and simple.