Metro is working with Google to add its bus and rail schedules to the popular search engine’s mapping feature, ensuring that public transit routes show up when Web surfers search Google for directions in the Washington area.
Metro gave Google its schedules and maps three months ago. The program is currently in the testing phase because the itineraries generated by Google Maps are not always matching up with Metro’s, General Manager John Catoe said Friday.
The company started the trip-planner feature as Google Transit in 2005 using transit schedules from Portland, Ore., after a few of the company’s engineers who were fans of public transportation came up with the idea, a Google spokeswoman said.
“We were able to find some more partners and we decided to make it an integrated part of Google Maps,” spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo said.
The company now provides transit guides for 27 U.S. cities and 16 international cities, and added the Maryland Transit Administration‘s schedules to the system Friday.
Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said the feature has not yet started in Washington because Google interprets Metro’s schedule information differently than Metro’s Trip Planner does.
“We’ve had some people in the IT department putting in test itineraries and getting varied results,” Asato said. “It’ll tell you to take a bus, but the bus left five minutes ago.”
Filadelfo declined to confirm the project or discuss the reason for the schedule differences.
