The Silent Number

Posted: 2009-03-08

The announcement of Google Transit three an a half years ago was exciting news to me. Finally, the best map service would also be able to provide directions for public transportation! Since that announcement, i have watched the number of enlisted transit agencies grow and grow, but to this day the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), who provide public transportation through the Greater Boston area, has still not enlisted in Google Transit. They even adopted Google Maps to provide directions on their own website, but they won't use Google Transit.

This is extremely inconvenient, to say the least. Why is it that they have failed to acknowledge or respond to inquiries regarding this? I contacted them when Google Transit first came out and again more recently, but neither attempt got a response. My only theory is that they want people to be forced to use their website for directions. This is one failure of a marketing strategy if that is indeed their (backwards) thinking.

Making information more accessible will only help the MBTA, and most of all, customers of the MBTA. Every search for directions using Google will provide a link to the MBTA website, and webstites who need to link to public transportation directions will give even more visibility to this. Everybody wins. Restricting access to this information doesn't do anybody any good. A small uprising of angry commuters have even created a Facebook Group titled, "Put the MBTA on Google Transit!!!" which i engourage all of you reading this to join. Supposedly, this issue will even be gaining some media attention soon, so hopefully well see some progress in the near future.