New York launches Google Transit

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials were joined by Google executives and other local agency heads this week to announce the launch of Google Transit in New York.

Google Transit, a feature of the Google Maps online mapping service, provides point-to-point public transit trip planning that will now include transit services throughout the MTA service territory, including New York City Transit, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, MTA Bus, Long Island Bus and Staten Island Railway, as well as other regional connecting services participating in the initiative, such as New Jersey Transit, the Port Authority's AirTrain and Staten Island Ferry.

"The MTA is delighted to partner with Google to provide our customers with this cutting-edge tool for getting around our 5,000 square-mile territory,” said MTA Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Elliot G. Sander.

The new service enables users to access streamlined, regional trip-planning based on up-to-date schedule data across the subway, bus and rail systems. The application even includes walking directions for the beginning or end of the trip.

New York joins a host of U.S. agencies currently using Google Transit, including Chicago Transit Authority, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District in San Francisco and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, as well as in international cities such as Moscow and Tokyo.