SEPTA and Google Transit: A Long-Waited-For Love Affair
It’s finally here. You can now utilize Google Transit to ascertain directions, schedules, and fares from one location in Philadelphia to another via the subway or RR. Bus and Trolley schedules to be added later this year. It’s been years in the process, and at times getting from one end of Philadelphia to another via public transit can be as perplexing as navigating one’s way around Rome. Make sure to check up on SEPTA’s twitter for travel alerts, such as ones that happened because of the snow last night. We’re happy, anyone who has an iphone is happy, it’s a big project that’s been a long time coming.
January 8th, 2010 at 11:50 am
http://www.philebrity.com/2009/07/17/septas-peanut-butter-now-officially-mixed-in-with-googles-chocolate/
January 8th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Meh, http://www.isepta.org is still better.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Hm, it looks like SEPTA/Google transit has made significant changes and debugging of all sorts since they announced the original implementation (buses and trolley schedules Are available now). They’re also offering real-time information online (on your smartphone) that will show the departure time and status of the next four RR trains.
January 8th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I was the original tipster on this (I think), and this post isn’t entirely accurate. The news is that they now have buses available, K-Fai, as I think my email said. “It” was a little confusing, but it was meant to refer to bus integration:
“In the summer (I think) of ‘09 back Septa integrated with Google Transit for subways and regional rail and promised that they’d have buses integrated ‘later this year.’ Well, even though they had a press release announcing that it was finished 12/1 and I saw some signs of integration (but not much worked), it is up now. This is awesome and should make Septa life (especially for anyone with a smartphone) much, much easier. Way to go, Septa: we’re getting there*.
*There=Where Pittsburgh was 2 years ago.”
And @jrefano: There’re a lot of things that iSepta is not. One of them: useful to people who don’t live in the suburbs (Manayunk and the NE count).
January 8th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Heh heh, you said “ascertain”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr_3S4GcZNo
January 8th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Yes, buses and trolleys are on and it is excellent. If you have Google Maps for your mobile phone, it is on there as well and also excellent. I use it all the time.
Also check out: http://phillymap.com/gmaps.html
to see bus routes mapped out on Google Maps.