YRT/Viva and Google team up for Google Transit

[xtremesniper]

It was bound to happen, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly. While the TTC attempts to hold onto its information for dear life similarly to what the MTA in New York has done in the past, YRT has taken it upon themselves to do their ridership a service and offer their information up to Google.

See the press release here: http://www.yrt.ca/googletransit/index.asp

YRT/Viva and Google have teamed up to give riders another trip planning option

Google Maps users looking for directions within York Region can now plan a trip with YRT/Viva using Google Transit. As a complementary product of YRT/Viva’s rideQuest Click trip planning tools, Google Transit combines YRT/Viva planning and scheduling data with Google Maps to create quick and detailed itineraries.

Although Google Transit uses data provided by YRT/Viva, you may receive different trip plan results than when using rideQuest Click. This is because Google uses different calculations for walking distances, travel times, transfers and destination points. rideQuest Click allows you to search for trip plans with your bus stop number and by popular locations, and trip results display the most current schedules, fare information and any detours for your trip. YRT/Viva’s planning and scheduling data is continuously updated in rideQuest Click. Google Transit is updated periodically.

Google Transit is an integrated feature in Google Maps, Google Maps for Mobile and Google Earth. Google Maps is available in 40 different languages, and is compatible with screen readers for the
visually impaired.

Plan a trip with YRT/Viva using Google Transit.
Visit google.ca/transit and click on “York Regionâ€

Tell us what you think about YRT/Viva and Google’s partnership
Send your Google Transit comments and feedback to transitinfo@york.ca

I briefly played around with it for a few minutes so I can't really say much about it, but I did notice that when I entered my route it showed me a few options but never one that used Viva (which is my route). I guess I'll have to play around with it some more.

 

[RedRocket191]

In my experience I've found that the in-house planner is usually more accurate and gives you more options like minimize walking, minimize transfers and accessible trip only. Google transit doesn't let you do that, but they load much, much faster. Either way, it takes away the "I don't know how to get there" excuse.