Public transportation doesn’t seem too tempting when you’ve got a car in the garage. But if you’re on vacation in another country, those sorts of systems start to look quite nice, and so we welcome the introduction of Google Transit trip planner for Europe.
Different traffic laws, non-English road signs, unfamiliar parking places – who needs ‘em? It’s much easier to ferried about by an established company or a country’s own government. So, although coverage isn’t universal, Google’s off to a nice start, with “information for the following places and transport companies”: Travel South East (in the UK), SBB and VBZ (in Switzerland), and Turin and Florence (in Italy).
On the Google LatLong Blog, Christopher Oehler assures readers that Google will lengthen this list. He also writes, “Try it yourself: type your start and end address in the ‘get directions’ boxes. The default results are driving directions, but in the areas that we have transit routing coverage, you can simply click on the ‘Take Public Transit’ link.”
The Google Transit trip planner should save tourists a few bucks (compared to rental cars or cabs) and will allow them to find that all-important “local flavor,” as well. Based on their constant proximity to the transit systems, Europe’s resident could reap even greater benefits.
Google Transit is, by the way, also useful in Vancouver, Japan, and about 20 parts of the U.S.
