Google Transit is on the wrong track

GOOGANTUA'S NEW 'Google Transit' service is proving about as useful as a chocolate teapot and is giving directions which are not exactly accurate.

Punters have been sending in screen shots to news sites which show Google can't find transport options out of one area but suddenly can if you add another station.

The service was added on Tuesday and found that those looking to ride the Long Island Rail Road might not get the best directions, if they get any at all.

In one case if you ask for directions from Wyandanch to Kennedy Airport you are told to walk with your baggage to the Pinelawn Station even though Wyandanch has a station of its own.

Those who could use Deer Park station to get to the airport are told that the station is outside Google Transport's current coverage area even when it is on the same route as other stations.

When Newsday tracked the new business development manager for Google, Tom Sly, down using more traditional methods he told them that the tool searches for transportation options that are within "a reasonable distance" for someone to walk to and from. If searches don't yield results that may mean that there are no options within that area.

He said the service would get better when more public transportation agencies share their information with Google, Sly said the tool will get better at providing directions. In the meantime, he said Google would welcome all feedback from users and relay any glitches to engineers.

Jeremy Soffin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said the agency has been alerting Google to any kinks in the system. But said for the most part it works extremely well.

Not a lot of help for those lost in New York because Google Transit can't find its own buttocks with both hands. We always thought that Americans drove everywhere anyway. µ

L'Inq
News Day