Hyderabad, India — In case you are one of those who finds it difficult to figure out something as simple as a bus route at crucial junctures. Well now finding a bus ride for locals bus service no longer needs peeping over boring timetables, as Global search engine behemoth Google recently announced the availability of local bus services info in Chennai and Hyderabad on Google’s online and mobile maps transit feature for figuring out their bus routes.
Now, after enriching almost 447 cities across the world, the Google Inc. has opened its giant application, Google Transit, that empowers users free access to public transport systems embedded on Google maps, was launched in Chennai and Hyderabad recently.
Currently, the service is available on Google’s online and mobile versions of Google Maps, and only information corresponding to local bus services will be available, and will provide detailed local bus route information and directions to commuters free of cost. Of late Google has been expanding its public transportation information service for the Indian cities and it is likely that more cities will get displayed on the transit section.
Confirming the news, the internet company wrote on its blog, “The launch of the local bus information service in Chennai and Hyderabad will not just guide millions of commuters and visitors in the metros to explore public transportation options as they search for directions or locations, but also encourage alternatives to driving, Kapil Goswami from Google India’s business development said in a blogpost. This information is available both on Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile, enabling users to access the service even while on the move.”
The service also enables users to access bus routes on the net from the comfort of their homes or offices or even while on the move on their mobiles by just logging onto Google Map. The commuters can also use the transit feature to plan a trip in their city using the public transport.
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To begin, the users need to go to maps.google.com and search on by clicking the train icon (suggestive of public transport) for directions for the destination. Besides, with the maps feature, you can define the route between point A to point B by choosing the ‘Directions’ option.
Here, all one needs to do is enter one’s starting point, destination, date and time of travel, and within seconds the maps will then display precise details of the bus routes, bus stops, bus numbers, their timings and the total amount of time it would take to get there and driving directions for that destination point.
The users, however, will get two options — one displaying route/directions for private vehicles, the second one showing routes for public transport such as local rail and bus. Also, a car and a train icon appear side by side; clicking on the train icon, you get a list of bus services from the start point to the destination, and approximate journey time.
It also displays walking time and distance details along each of those routes. The information displayed under the section called “public transport” is the new updated feature. Under this section, information such as bus route numbers and estimate time for the journey is displayed. It also suggests points from where one can board the bus/train.
It also provides the frequency of services, according to Manik Gupta, Head, Maps and Local Products, Google.
Moreover, the service is also accessible on a mobile application. Additionally, on the mobile, you can even figure out where exactly the bus stop is located. “If you are not familiar with the area, you may not know where the bus stop is, it is not well laid out in every city. This is an additional advantage,” said Gupta.
Speaking with local newspaper The Hindu, he said that the information was accumulated from various sources, and “we are quite certain that the data out there is accurate, in terms of services available and frequency.”
In addition, the service does not reports for real time travel, or traffic logjams. So while Transit might indicate that it will take 26 minutes by bus (route No 11 A) to go from T. Nagar to Chintadripet MRTS station, the actual time taken is close to double that during rush hours. Also, the transit facility does not provide for direct instantaneous user feedback or updates on traffic scenes or breakdowns (of buses) that may help other users avoid a particular route.
On the other hand, Gupta says, information can be input into the Google Support page. Also, you could use the mapmaker tool to indicate if landmarks plotted on the maps have changed. “Hopefully, we will ponder over on this [direct user feedback] as well.”
The objective is to expand the service to cover all forms of public transport in all cities in India. Currently, the transit service is available in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and Ahmedabad.
Additionally, the search engine company has inked a deal with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), for public transport information; while in Mumbai, it displays BEST bus routes and local trains. For Ahmedabad, Google has partnered with Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Services (AMTS).