AC Transit partners with Google maps to give riders real time bus data

WALNUT CREEK< Calif. -- Bus riders in Alameda and Contra Costa counties can now use Google maps to plan their trips, AC transit officials announced Thursday.

AC Transit and Google Maps are partnering together to let riders know exactly what time their next bus is coming, using "real time" location data from every bus in the transportation district's fleet.

Additionally, with service alerts imported straight from AC Transit's website, the district's 200,000 daily riders will also have descriptions of construction or special event detours and other temporary impacts on specific routes, transit officials said.

"Google maps is a very popular trip planning tool for our riders. Adding real-time trip updates allows better planning and more certainty and saves our riders time. It makes a great tool even better," AC Transit Board of Directors President Chris Peeples said.

"And the addition of service notices alerts riders to current and upcoming changes such as detours due to construction, parades and other major events," Peeples said.

The transportation district expects the new feature to be well received since the AC Transit website had nearly 16 million page views last year, with 2.4 million hits seeking real time bus information and another 257,000 page views seeking help with trip planning, transit officials said.