I am getting my driver’s license soon, but I won’t have access to a car very often.  I take the bus or walk most places, and I know my way around here pretty well.  But how cool will it be to google your bus route or your train route in bigger cities!  Maybe this will help more people to use mass transit and spend less time in their cars burning up fuel and the planet.

Google Public Transit Officially Launches

via EcoGeek.org by Billy Shih on 10/7/07

We’ve reported on Google Transit in the past but now it is official. Transit works like Google Maps, but instead of driving directions, it lets you know how you can get where you’re going without a car. Type in your start and end points plus date and time and it gives you where to walk, what bus to take and when. It even is integrated into Google Maps, meaning if you search for directions using Maps, just click “Take Public Transit” and it will switch to Transit mode, showing you the next 3 upcoming bus departures. I typed in my daily busing commute and it found the same exact route.

Currently it works for various areas in 9 states and even in China and Japan. Wish I had this when I was in China! This is great for current bus riders and getting new people to take the bus. Although my hometown of Seattle already has something like this, this will only help spread the word that transit can be just as easy (and a heck of a lot cheaper) than driving.

Google Transit

Via TechCrunch