Posted on 20 November 2014

YOUGUYSYOUGUYS this is seriously so exciting.
This morning I took the bus so I could get my winter tires down to the bike shop and I discovered this little message on the Prince George Transit website.

So I did and holeeeee cow what an improvement.

For someone who’s long lamented the complicated nature of the previous system (if you haven’t experienced the process of trying to map a trip, here’s what the schedule looks like), this is a breath of fresh air. Strip it down: I’m here, I want to there, and this is when I want to leave. Thank you!
But wait, there’s more! As I was experimenting with this I noticed that it was automatically detecting potential addresses. I don’t need to know where Canadian Tire is, I just need to say I want to go to Canadian Tire in Prince George.

 
And then I noticed where they were getting those address from… “powered by Google.” Could it be?

 
YES. You can now get bus routes for Prince George (and, presumably, everywhere else serviced by BC Transit) in Google Maps now. I kid you not, I have been requesting this feature since 2009.
BC Transit is asking for feedback on their beta system and I don’t even know what to say, I’m just so excited that we’ve got a system that actually works. My biggest complaint about the bus system has long been that the process of mapping out a route is just so complicated that anyone with a choice would never use it.
This plus the fairly active Twitter account issuing alerts and answering questions should make things a lot more usable, at least for people who are technically savvy.
Since they want feedback, here are my two asks:

• geotag buses so you can track them. In winter especially things fall behind and when you’re sitting there waiting ten minutes after the scheduled arrival time, you start to worry that somehow you missed the bus and being able to double-check where it is would really help.
• for the users without smartphones, having maps and schedules posted at stops would be nice. I’m guessing there’s still a fairly large contingent of people using the bus who aren’t logging onto BC Transit, and it would be nice to improve their service as well.

Those are little things, though, in what is a hugely positive step forward for BC Transit and, I hope, the number of people who feel comfortable using the bus system in Prince George. Kudos.
 

Filed under: transit