The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) formed a partnership with Google Transit, a public transit trip planning feature of Google Maps, which will make planning a trip on the city’s bus system easier.

Riders will now be able to quickly and simply:

•           Customize their route;

•           Get walking directions to the nearest transit stop;

•           Access information on mobile phones;

•           Use a business name instead of having to know a specific address;

•           Get street views of locations; and

•           Calculate the fare for their trip.

In addition, Google Maps supports 12 foreign languages, making it easy to find directions and information in many languages, and also is compatible with screen readers for the visually impaired.

Riders may plan their route by entering the date and time they would like to arrive at their destination or begin their trip. The trip planner will provide three options with the travel time and number of transfers. Google Maps provides walking directions to assist users in reaching their destination once they get off a bus, and has street views to help passengers find the closest transit stop and become familiar with their destination before they get there.