SimCity Lausanne Transit on Google Maps

Vasile Cotovanu has created a new Google Map application, Lausanne Transit Network Simulator, using his popular and open-sourced transit network simulator. And I think it is the most impressive yet!

Vasile's latest simulation shows in real-time the public transit network of Lausanne in Switzerland. The simulator animates the town's buses in real-time. What makes this simulation even more impressive is the Google Maps aerial (Bird's Eye) imagery available in Lausanne.

The simulation maps the Lausanne public transit network and time-table, which involves more than 150km of travel and more than 300 stations, with 5,000 vehicles a day making almost 100,000 stops.

Using Vasile's vehicle-simulator you can create your own real-time public transit network simulator for any town or city with the help of the code, available from GitHub. To create your own simulated network you just need to plot your track / road network and the vehicle timetables in JSON format.

The network simulator can also be seen in action on:

• Swiss Railways(SBB) network simulator
• Romanian Railways(CFR) network simulator
  

MetroCard Use Visualised on Google Maps

The Wall Street Journal created this great data visualisation to show how New Yorkers are using different kinds of MetroCards on the city's public transit network.

Examining MetroCard Usage uses the Google Maps API to present how the 30-Day Unlimited, Pay Per-Ride and Senior Discount MetroCards are used throughout NYC. Heat maps are created for each card type and useful information windows point out specific locations and usage of the cards that the WSJ finds interesting.

The visualisation also presents data taken after the 12/30/2010 fare increases to examine how usage of the different MetroCards may have changed after the fare rises.

Getting Around Athens with Google Maps

The Athens Public Transit Planner is a public transit network map of the Greek capital, which also includes a very handy trip planner.

The app consists of two main parts; a network map and a trip planner. The trip planner allows users to plan a trip using the city's public transit system. Users can set a starting point, destination and the time of journey and get detailed step-by-step transit directions. The route of the journey is also displayed on a Google Map.

The network map allows the user to view all of Athens' public transit lines. Estimated live departure times for any stop on the network can be viewed by clicking on the station name in the map sidebar. The map itself includes a clever bounding box function that ensures that the available transit lines displayed in the sidebar always reflect the lines available in the current map view.

Greek Taxi Cost Calculator

This Greek Taxi Price Calculator allows users to calculate the cost of a taxi journey anywhere in Greece.

To use the calculator, simply right-click on the map to specify your starting and destination address or use the input fields in the left hand side menu. The route of your journey will then be displayed on the map and the estimated taxi charge is displayed in the map sidebar.

The costs are calculated according to the most up to date prices and include a full itemisation of charges you can expect from your taxi trip. The charges also include the 11% VAT introduced for Athens' taxi services.

Romanian Trains Live on Google Maps

The Romanian railroad network is around 5,000 km in length, with almost 1,500 stations. Around 1,300 trains travel on the network every day making roughly 20,000 stops in total per day.

Using the Romanian Railways Network Simulator you can view it all live and in real-time. Romanian Railways Network Simulator uses the timetables of the Romanian railways to create a simulated real-time Google Map of the Romanian rail network. Using the map you can view the network's trains moving around Romania live on a Google Map.

You can create your own simulated vehicle simulator with the help of the code from Swisstrains, available from GitHub.

The Metro's Social Sharing Application

Check My Metro is a social sharing network for French subway users. The application allows travellers to share information about interesting and useful sightings made on the metro systems in Paris, Lille, Lyon and Toulouse.

The system is being used to report sightings of interesting buskers, graffiti, ticket checks, delays or anything else that might be interesting or useful to other travellers. Check My Metro is available as an iPhone, Android or desktop app.

The desktop version of Check My Metro comes with a useful Google Map that not only shows the Metro system for each city but shows the location of messages shared by the application's users.

Via: Geo in Web

Vancouver's Buses Live on Google Maps

Vancouver's Next Bus has created a live real-time map of the city's bus network.

The Next Bus Google Map shows all the city's bus-stops with blue 'T' markers. If you click on a bus-stop marker you can view the scheduled times of the next bus due at the stop. However, as well as viewing the scheduled times of the next buses due, you can also see where the buses that service that route are in real-time on the map.

Hat-tip: Street View Funny

London Bus Waiting Times on Google Maps

Transport for London recently started beta testing a new Countdown API to provide real-time departure information for all buses at every bus stop throughout London.

Next Bus London has quickly released a Google Map that shows the location of London bus stops and informs you how long you will have to wait to catch a bus.

To find out exactly how long you will have to wait you simply need to click on a map marker and an information window opens displaying the bus number, destinations and waiting times for the next few scheduled buses at that stop.

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Hungarian Trains Live on Google Maps

Hungarian railways MAV could be the first rail company to launch their own real-time Google Map showing the live position of passenger trains.

A number of individuals have created real-time maps of moving trains by scraping train data from operators' websites and some train operators have even released their own APIs. However MÁV-START Vonatinfo is, I think, the first live Google Map of trains actually released by a train operator themselves.

The map shows the live real-time positions of all trains on the Hungarian rail network. You can click on any of the trains to view its full timetable. The trains themselves are colour-coded to indicate if they are currently running on time or are delayed.

If you select 'Vonat' you can search for an individual train. Enter a train number and the train's timetable is displayed and the map zooms to the selected train's track. If you select 'Állomás' you can search for and view an individual station's timetable.

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Proximity Search with Google Maps

Arrlee is a new Google Maps based application that can tell you how far you can travel from a destination on public transport within a certain time.



Arrlee give three good examples of when you might need to carry out a proximity search:

• You are planning a weekend trip and are looking for locations you can travel to in a specified time
• You are looking for a new job within a certain commuting time from your home
• You want to find somewhere to live within a certain commuting time from a specific location
  
  

To use Arrlee just enter a station name and set the time available to travel. You can even add points of interest to the map, so, for example, you can find out where all the museums are within a certain travelling time of a location.



Arelee currently works in Germany, Austria and Switzerland but there are plans to add more countries soon. A mobile version is also in development.



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Euston We Have a Problem

MySociety's FixMyStreet was a leading pioneer in what might be called report mapping.



FixMyStreet created a system that allows residents to view and report problems, such as graffiti, fly tipping, broken paving slabs, or street lighting to their local authorities. MySociety has now created a similar report mapping application to help people get common public transport problems resolved.



FixMyTransport is targeted specifically at problems such as broken ticket machines or buses that always leave early. The application uses Google Maps to allow users to find a specific station or bus-stop where they wish to report a problem.



It is also possible to view a Google Map showing all reported problems in a specific area. From the information users provide FixMyTransport can then report problems through to the correct department of the operator or local authority in charge.



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Boston's Buses Live on Google Maps

With TransitSpy you can follow Boston's MBTA buses live on Google Maps.

Using the sidebar you can select any combination of MBTA bus routes and view in real-time the position of the buses on those routes. As well as the live buses all the stops on a route are displayed on the map. If you click on a bus-stop's map marker you can see how long you will have to wait until the next bus arrives.

TransitSpy MBTA

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Tube Directions Now On Google Maps

Public transport directions for London has been added to Google Maps. If you want to get around in London you can now get transit directions that include the London Underground, DLR, buses and trams.

To get public transit directions in London on Google Maps you just need to select 'Get directions', type in your starting point and destination and click on the train icon that appears in the side panel.

The resulting direction will then tell you which underground station you need to go to and even which tube line you need to catch.

Official Google Blog

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Munich's S-Bahn Live on Google Maps

I'm a great fan of live real-time maps of city transit systems. There is something about watching trains moving in real-time on a map that really appeals to my inner geek.

This real-time Google Map of Munich's S-Bahn shows the transit system's trains live as they move around the city. Each train is represented on the map with a numbered map marker indicating which line it is travelling on.

You can click on any of the train markers and view its next stop and its destination station. It is also possible to click on any station on the network and view the times and destination of the next trains scheduled to arrive.

S-Bahn Munich: Real-Time Map

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Planes, Trams & Automobiles

NextBus's real-time transit map of San Francisco lets you view the live position of the city's historic cable cars.

You can select to view any of the cable car lines in San Francisco and view the cable cars moving on a Google Map in real-time. Each of the cable cars is represented by it's own map marker. Each marker displays the unique livery of the selected cable car.

From the map sidebar you can select which routes you wish to view. You can also click on individual stops on the map to view real-time arrival predictions for that stop.

NextBus




Mibazaar has created a Google Map that allows you to view Twitter messages posted from a number of U.S. and international airports.

Using the map you can view real-time messages from Twitter users as they land or arrive at the selected airports. The U.S. airports include Chicago, Atlanta, New York (JFK), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit. You can also view Tweets from London Heathrow, Amsterdam and Cairo.

Airport Tweets Mapped



In the UK the Royal Automobile Club is using Google Maps to show the range of offers and discounts available to its members. The offers include discounts on car products and services, on hotel stays and at restaurants.

To find discounts and deals near a location simply enter a postcode. You can also refine the deals and offers shown on the map using the map key.

RAC Members Offers

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London Bus Planners on Google Maps

There are around 7,000 red buses in London transporting passengers on over 700 different routes. BusIt London is a bus route planner that can help you navigate London's extensive bus network.

To plan a route just click on the Google Map to select your start and end points, or use the search box to find locations. BusIt London will then display your route on the map. If more than one route is available you can select from the alternatives given.

The sidebar explains where to catch your bus and which number bus you should get on. If you need to change buses on your route the stops where you need to change are also displayed in the sidebar.

BusIt London

Also See

• What Bus? - a Google Map of all London bus lines
• On a Bus - enter a London bus number and view the bus's route on Google Maps

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Google Maps Now Has Live Transit Times

Google Maps now has live real-time transit times for four U.S. cities and two European cities: Boston, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid and Turin.



If you click on a transit icon on Google Maps in these six cities you can now view live departure times and service alerts for the selected station or stop.

The live transit data for the six cities is available in the latest version of Google Maps for mobile, as well as Google Maps on all supported desktop and mobile browsers.

Via: Official Google Blog

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Greece Taxi Fares on Google Maps

Taxi Fare Calculator

This very clever Greek taxi fare calculator can work out the potential cost of any taxi fare in Greece.

Perhaps the most clever thing about this app is that it uses a traffic forecast model that updates the trip duration / taxi cost depending on the hour of day. The model predicts the amount of traffic on the roads at different times of the day and uses this to help work out potential taxi fares.

To work out a fare you can enter a starting point and a destination, or you can just right-click on the map twice to work out a fare. An interactive graph at the top of the map displays an estimation of the duration of the journey at different times of the day. You can also use the time-line slider to work out the potential journey cost at different times.

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The Real-Time Toronto Transit Map

TOTransit

TOTransit displays the real-time position of Toronto's streetcars on a Google Map.

You can select which routes you want to view on the map in real-time. The marker for each streetcar displays its current direction and if you mouse-over a marker you can view the streetcar's number.

The streetcars' positions are updated every ten seconds.

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Real-Time Train Tracking on Google Maps

NahverkehrsKarte

This Google Map shows the near real-time movements of trains and subway trains in Stuttgart and the position of buses in Reutling.

The map was inspired by the Swiss trains live tracking map swisstrains.ch. Like swisstrains.ch this Google Map shows the position of the public transit system based on timetables rather than track the vehicles in real-time.

It is possible to click on any of the moving map markers to view the vehicle's next stop. You can also click on any of the mapped stations or stops to view the times of the next arriving trains and buses.

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London's Red Buses on Google Maps

London BusMapper

London BusMapper can tell you which London bus you should take for your journey. London's huge public bus network is a great way of getting around the city. However, with so many routes, it can be difficult to work out which bus you should catch.

With London BusMapper all you need to do is click on your starting point and destination on a Google Map and the app will show you which buses you can take. All the different options are immediately displayed on the map and the locations of the bus-stops you need are clearly shown.

On a Bus

On a Bus is a Google Maps mashup of London bus routes. To use the site just enter a London bus number and On a Bus will show the bus's route using Google Maps (try '1' if you are not familiar with London Bus numbers).

The bus route is shown on the map with a polyline and all the bus-stops on the route are indicated with map markers. If you click on any of the map markers on the route nearby points of interest are displayed in the side-panel.

What Bus?

What Bus? is a Google Maps mashup of all the London bus lines. It is possible to search the map by postcode or by just panning the map. The bus routes are shown on the map by coloured polylines. Clicking on any of the bus routes will take you to an individual route just for that line.

What Bus? is also available as an iPhone app.

Bus-Tops

Bus-Tops is a fascinating public art project in London. Bus-Tops will be installing screens on the roofs of bus shelters across London, creating a medium for artists to show their work. Currently the Bus-Tops team is asking Londoners to choose which bus shelters they would like Bus-Tops' screens to be installed on.

If you want to suggest a bus stop shelter in London for a Bus-Tops screen you can do so by simply entering an address or postcode on the Bus-Tops Google Map. Once you enter a address you can view bus shelters near that location. Clicking on a bus top marker will bring up more information on the shelter.

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