Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver • Hacker News Board

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#51

Post by kokokokoko » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 12:43 AM UTC

o10449366 wrote: post #23

I would love to see this come to more cities. I live in a major north American city where public transportation is run by the local government. They have an official transportation app, but it's a buggy mess that's just a wrapper for the phone browser. It features "real time" (their words) route tracking, but as I quickly found out, the busses that move along the map aren't actually representative of the real busses…

There is a format which exports both regular bus data and real time data.

https://developers.google.com/transit/gtfs/

https://developers.google.com/transit/gtfs-realtime/

I'm a bit curious which city you live in, because the majority major cities(at least in the US) publish both GTFS and GTFS real time. This is how Google(and other applications) gather the data. Does Google Maps provide real time data for transit? If not, you may want to get in touch with your cities transit service and inquire why not. I was part of a team that did GTFS(not real time) for a small area, and it was not incredibly expensive. Most of the data the transit service already has and its usually just a matter of doing some transformations on the data into the new format.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#52

Post by pofilat » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 12:44 AM UTC

BHSPitMonkey wrote: post #18

zhoujianfu wrote: post #16

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal". A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination. But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calcu…

Google Maps announced this back in October: > Drive , walk and ride : support for mixed-mode commutes > There’s a new feature for people whose commutes involve both driving and public transit. You can see helpful information about when to leave, and for each leg of your trip: you’ll know if there’s traffic on your drive, when the next train departs, and how long it’ll take to walk from the train station to the office…

Caveat: That feature only works if you pay with enhanced access to your (unrelated) data, by enabling Web and App Activity tracking/logging.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#53

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 12:55 AM UTC

kcorbitt wrote: post #17

zhoujianfu wrote: post #16

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal". A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination. But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calcu…

I use Citymapper for this; have for years ( https://citymapper.com/ ). It does exactly what you're asking for. I too am surprised that Google hasn't eaten their lunch by baking this into Google Maps.

[deleted]

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#54

Post by askafriend » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 12:57 AM UTC

oskkejdjdkjd wrote: post #41

Sort of unrelated but god do I hate the fashion of SV. The guy pictured at the top of the article looks like some kind of hyper-hipster. Everything about his clothes screams “down to earth,” “humble,” “stoic,” “thoughtful,” etc. it drives me insane because this guy is the exact opposite of that. He’s a cut-throat business person. It’s part of a broader trend in SV where people put on the appearance of wanting to impr…

If you have issues with something as simple as a pair of jeans and a hoodie, then I would be curious to know the scope of things you get outraged about on a daily basis. Sounds like a terrible prison.

I think this is a case of you already having decided that you don't like the guy and trying to find something, anything that will let you justify it.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#55

Post by o10449366 » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 12:57 AM UTC

kokokokoko wrote: post #51

o10449366 wrote: post #23

I would love to see this come to more cities. I live in a major north American city where public transportation is run by the local government. They have an official transportation app, but it's a buggy mess that's just a wrapper for the phone browser. It features "real time" (their words) route tracking, but as I quickly found out, the busses that move along the map aren't actually representative of the real busses…

There is a format which exports both regular bus data and real time data. https://developers.google.com/transit/gtfs/ https://developers.google.com/transit/gtfs-realtime/ I'm a bit curious which city you live in, because the majority major cities(at least in the US) publish both GTFS and GTFS real time. This is how Google(and other applications) gather the data. Does Google Maps provide real time data for transit? If…

I would rather not reveal my city for privacy reasons, but Google Maps also only shows the fixed "schedule" and no real time estimates.

I was not aware about GTFS, but I'll read about it and try and contact the city council maybe. My city isn't small or poor so the problem definitely isn't one caused by lack of resources, but maybe it's just something they haven't considered before. In any case, thank you for your insight.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#56

Post by zhoujianfu » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 1:03 AM UTC

BHSPitMonkey wrote: post #18

zhoujianfu wrote: post #16

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal". A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination. But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calcu…

Google Maps announced this back in October: > Drive , walk and ride : support for mixed-mode commutes > There’s a new feature for people whose commutes involve both driving and public transit. You can see helpful information about when to leave, and for each leg of your trip: you’ll know if there’s traffic on your drive, when the next train departs, and how long it’ll take to walk from the train station to the office…

Hmm, I just tried this but it makes you choose your mode of transit. One option is “car and public transit” but then when I tried it it had me walking 17 minutes to a bus to a train station. For a total of 81 minutes right now (when just driving would be 30). Also they’re not taking scooters into account it seems, or the ability to take an Uber from a train station..

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#57

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 1:03 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#58

Post by zhoujianfu » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 1:05 AM UTC

kcorbitt wrote: post #17

zhoujianfu wrote: post #16

I assume they (and/or lyft and google maps) will eventually do what google maps should already have in my opinion, a final option next to car/walking/bike/transit/taxi: "multi-modal". A lot of times the fastest way to get somewhere in LA is actually: walk to a scooter, scoot to the train, train to the closest stop, then uber to your final destination. But that isn't shown automatically and it's a lot of work to calcu…

I use Citymapper for this; have for years ( https://citymapper.com/ ). It does exactly what you're asking for. I too am surprised that Google hasn't eaten their lunch by baking this into Google Maps.

Oh, I hadn’t seen that! But hmm, it doesn’t seem to have jump bikes/scooters, Lyft scooters, bird, or lime in the scooters section, and again there’s no multi-mode.. it just shows walking/biking/Uber/public transit but not a combination of them. It does have a jet pack option which is nice and forward thinking! :)

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#59

Post by tomjakubowski » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 1:16 AM UTC

o10449366 wrote: post #23

I would love to see this come to more cities. I live in a major north American city where public transportation is run by the local government. They have an official transportation app, but it's a buggy mess that's just a wrapper for the phone browser. It features "real time" (their words) route tracking, but as I quickly found out, the busses that move along the map aren't actually representative of the real busses…

That's too bad. Los Angeles Metro has had "Nextrip", GPS based arrival estimates, on Rapid bus lines for 10+ years, and on Local bus lines for less than that. The service is accurate and absolutely fantastic. I only wish that the UX for casual riders who want Nextrip info on their phones was better.

Re: Uber’s transit offering just went live in Denver

#60

Post by eeeeeeeeeeeee » Sun, Feb 03, 2019, 1:22 AM UTC

drivers99 wrote: post #5

/r/denver discussion: https://old.reddit.com/r/Denver/comments/alsm56/uber_transit... RTD already has their own app for buying tickets. Transit app (or google maps) work well for planning trips. You can’t even actually buy a ticket yet on the Uber app. > Uber is aiming to increase efficiency, enhance the experience and increase equity and accessibility What does that mean?

I'm a Denver resident and use the train anytime I go to the airport (union station -> DIA). It's probably the easiest fair they do, flat rate. The RTD app is ATROCIOUS -- my first attempt I was double billed. Also, it's functionally worse than a paper ticket because you have to constantly take your phone out of your pocket and open up the RTD app to show the guard. With a paper ticket, you can simply leave the ticket on your seat. I don't even bother anymore, I simply use the physical kiosks at the station. I've never had to wait for a machine, even during the holidays.

I'm sure RTD knows they cannot compete with Uber or any other large company on app quality. So if RTD cannot even handle a simple one-way fair, it's no wonder they're trying to partner with Uber to handle complex fairs that combine walking, buses, trams, and trains.

Also, as others have said, Google Maps does some of this integration already, but it sounds like Uber might be taking over the ticket purchasing part as well? Which does sound nice.