[Nfbmo] CU, Google working on bus route mapping

[Horchem Gary]

Good morning folks I found this in todays edition of The News Leader

CU, Google working on bus route mapping

Figuring out which bus to take to get from point A to point B may soon be only a mouse click away.
City Utilities is working with Internet giant Google on a feature that lets people use a computer to quickly map their rides.
Carol Cruise, CU transit manager, said she hopes to have the service in place by the end of the year, or sooner.
"We have been doing a lot of data entry for the last four months with Google staff,'' Cruise said.
"We're getting our routes and bus stops plugged into their system. We're getting to the point where there's enough information for our staff to do some testing of it over the next few weeks."
Google offers the ride-mapping function to bus systems for free.
Cruise acknowledged some people, especially those new to the Springfield transit system, may find the bus route schedules and routes a bit daunting.
The Google ride-mapping program should make it much easier to plan a trip, she said.
The system works by typing in the addresses of the start and end points of one's trip.
The program tells which buses to take and the times the buses pass by starting and destination points.
Cruise said her staff also is working with Google to add more general destinations -- the Battlefield Mall or major health care facilities -- that would still work without having to type in their addresses.
Because the program is based on Google Maps, Cruise said bus riders likely will be able to see photo views of their starting and ending points when they map their rides.
"We're excited about this," she said.