Google Takes TheBus

Trying to figure out how to get from Waikiki to Aloha Stadium on TheBus? You could call (808) 848-5555 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., or you could ask Google, any time.

Honolulu’s award winning public transportation system is included in Google Transit, which can tell you where to catch which bus, where to transfer, and how long the trip will take you. It provides multiple routes if available, and lets you select a preferred departure or arrival time.

I actually blogged about this a year ago, when Honolulu was chosen as one of five metro areas in which Google would test the system. But as of today, Google Transit has moved from the wondrously experimental shelves of Google Labs to become an official, mature part of Google’s map service. In addition to the ever popular “Driving There” tool, you can now click a tab to “Take Public Transit.”

One feature that seems to have disappeared in the transition, however, is the trip cost estimator. Google Transit used to tell you how much you’d pay in bus fare, and compare that to how much it would cost to drive. In most cases, TheBus was your best bet per buck, if not per minute.