Politics on the Hudson

   The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Google launched Google Transit in New York today, Gov. David Paterson has announced. Google Transit, provided through Google Maps online mapping service, will now offer public-transit trip planning in MTA service territories. That includes New York City Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, the Metro-North Railroad, MTA Bus, Long Island Bus and the Staten Island Railway, along with other regional connecting services in New York and New Jersey.

   Benefits of the Google Transit trip planner include point-to-point trip planning using the  Google Maps format, in-depth information about a destination, scheduled departures from a station or stop and the ability to search nearby businesses, restaurants and attractions. A “My Location” feature places the user’s approximate cell-phone position on maps and shows the distance they are from their destination. The MTA’s territory is 5,000 square miles.

   Other public-transit providers have launched similar services with Google, such as systes in Chicago, New Jersey, San Francisco, Atlanta, Moscow and Tokyo.

   “Google Maps for Transit is a truly innovative marriage of information and infrastructure. It is a perfect example of how the public and private sectors can partner together to benefit us all—and it didn’t cost New York taxpayers a penny,” Paterson said in a statement.