Google Transit comes to Wellington

In a first for New Zealand, Wellington’s public transport information is now available through Google Maps, via a feature that enables you to plan trips using public transport.

Greater Wellington is the first organisation in New Zealand to have public transport information included in Google Transit and Wellington is the first capital city in Australasia to use it.

Wayne Hastie, Greater Wellington’s divisional manager of Public Transport, said having public transport available through Google Maps would benefit people who were not aware of Metlink – Greater Wellington’s public transport network. “It will be particularly useful for people living overseas who are planning to visit Wellington. They’ll be able to see how easy it is to get around the region on public transport.

“And locals who don’t use public transport, but use Google Maps for driving directions will now be able to see the public transport options. This is a great way of spreading the public transport word to people who wouldn’t normally consider taking a bus or train.”

Alan Noble, Head of Engineering for Google Australia and New Zealand welcomed the feature to New Zealand. “We’re so pleased to see Transit information available on Google Maps for Wellington – the first city in New Zealand – and the first capital city in Australasia – to see this feature. We’re committed to providing useful, local information to Kiwis – and Greater Wellington have provided truly extensive travel information across trains, buses, cable cars and ferries. We look forward to working with other transport agencies to roll out Google Transit in more New Zealand cities.”

Wayne Hastie said Google Transit came at no extra cost to ratepayers. “The only costs involved were staff time in terms of getting all the public transport information to Google and running thorough tests of the system. “However, it is still very much a work in progress so we would really appreciate getting feedback from people about things that could be improved or are not quite right.”

To access Google Transit, go to www.maps.google.co.nz. Click “Get Directions”. Enter your start and end points and click the Get Directions button. Click on the “Public Transit” link above your itinerary and you will see the times, service numbers and routes