Google brings NYC subway alerts to Maps, makes public transit a little more bearable

Google brings NYC subway alerts to maps, makes public transit a little more bearable

Google has offered up New York City subway information via Maps for some time now, but as anyone who’s navigated the 100-plus-year-old transit system will happily tell / complain to you, such information is only so useful without info on the requisite service changes — a lot of work goes into maintaining something that old. Google’s upping its game by bringing services changes to Maps for Android and its web-based counterpart. Clicking on one of the 468 stations in Maps will bring up relevant maintenance information, as well as step-by-step instructions for navigating around it. Until Boingo rolls out WiFi to more stations, however, you might want to check your status before going underground.

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Google brings NYC subway alerts to Maps, makes public transit a little more bearable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York MTA announces smartphone-based ticketing trials aboard Metro-North Railroad

New York MTA announces smartphonebased ticketing trials aboard MetroNorth Railroad

Like big sodas, paper ticket stubs may soon become a thing of the past in New York. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that, come next month, its employees will begin trials of a smartphone-based ticketing system aboard the Metro-North Railroad. While the grand experiment is currently closed to the public, it’s said that railroad workers will use their Android, BlackBerry and iPhone handsets to purchase rail tickets, which may then be validated directly from their smartphone. During the trial, the new system will be compared to the current purchasing scheme that combines both ticket machines and on-board purchases. Should everything prove successful, the MTA will expand the Metro-North’s new system to all-comers. Transit-minded folks will find the full PR after the break.

[Image credit: Masabi (Flickr)]

Continue reading New York MTA announces smartphone-based ticketing trials aboard Metro-North Railroad

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New York MTA announces smartphone-based ticketing trials aboard Metro-North Railroad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 04:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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