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Our News
Google map transit
For those who have lived abroad before, they all know about this: without a driver's license, you virtually can't get to anywhere especially if you are in North America, Australia or New Zealand. It's almost like being stuck in a place. As a result, when the Google Map was first launched, it was designed mainly for drivers, offering navigation services resembling the Global Positioning System (GPS). Only until recently has Google finally catered the needs of public transportation users or helped encourage drivers to turn to public transportation. Based on the Google Map, the Google Transit Trip Planner has been developed, making regional interactive mass transit information available to internet users. With this transit trip planner, Google Transit has proven that without a car, you can till survive in overseas countries!
Google Transit Trip Planner is not only a map: with the start and end address provided by the user, it will get you the public transportation schedules, travel time, transfer methods, etc, within seconds. Google Transit also gives you a choice. If there is more than one way of getting to your destination, it will list out all the options for you. Also, to encourage tourists or local residents to drive less, Google Transit will compare the time and cost incurred in using public transport and driving. Take Portland, a city in the West Coast of US, as an example. It costs only US$1.75 (approximately HK$13.6) to travel a distance of 12 miles by public transport while it costs US$5.81 (approximately HK$45.2) for driving. If the distance is increased to 18 miles, the trip will only cost US$2 (approximately HK$15.6) for public transport but the driving cost will be US$9 (approximately HK$70.1), three times more expensive than public transportation. Bear in mind that this does not include the parking, bridge and tunnel toll fees! The Google data shows that the longer the distance, the cheaper the public transportation is. Drivers will surely be motivated to drop their keys and go for public transportation, and help reduce pollution while saving the money on car maintenance.
Apart from helping consumers to save money, Google Transit is also good for the environment. Don't forget that the longer a private vehicle travels, the bigger is its footprint and hence the damage to the environment. Just look at Hong Kong - the Environmental Protection Department's Hong Kong Air Pollutant Emission Inventory 2006 shows that over 20% of major air pollutants – respirable suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides came from road transport, which also accounted for about 20% of carbon emission. According to WWF's carbon calculator, small and medium sized cars will emit 2.34 kg of carbon dioxide on average for 1 kg petrol consumed. Just make a note of the amount of petrol used each day and add that up, then you will know how much driving increases your footprint.
Since its launch in December 2005, Google Transit has extended its coverage of public transportation networks and now supports a growing list of cities and countries from around the world, many of which are hot spots among Hong Kongers, such as the U.S., Canada, Italy, the U.K., Switzerland, France, Japan and the major cities of mainland China. So when we plan our trips in future, we can check out Google Transit first, and see if our destinations are covered before the actual planning.
Looking back to the situation in Hong Kong which is well-known for its well-developed public transportation network, it is true that we do have the Centamap web site which offers information on public transportation and the KMB web site which includes a leisure guide, giving suggestions on how we can visit heritage sites, countryside, etc with KMB. However, we have nothing as user-friendly and convenient as the Google Transit route planner. Have you ever waved for a taxi because you cannot find the right transfer? The petroleum consumed and the carbon emission can easily add up. For how long do we have to wait before public transportation companies offer useful tools like Google Transit to help save both our money and our planet?