Potentially coming to a municipality near you is another effort by Google to help you get where you are goin’. Currently Beta testing in select cities is Google Transit.

Punch in where are, where you are going, what time you want to leave or arrive by and Google Transit will tell you the next 4 times buses pass by your start address, how long the transit will be with transfers (if any) and how much money you are saving vs. driving.

There are a few bugs to work out. For example it told me to get off the bus at a stop 3/4 mile farther away from work than I needed to and really underestimated the walk to work. I chalk it up to the data Google was provided by the transit company since the more distant stop is listed on the schedule and the closer, heavily used location is not.

The benefit for arts organizations, once the service is more refined and wide spread, is that it will help remove a barrier to attendance. You can encourage people to take the Rte. 42 bus, but if they are uncertain if the line near their house intersects conveniently with 42 they really need to be motivated to attend. This is especially true for weekends and nights when buses run less frequently.

For now, tuck it away and keep it in mind as a future resource you can direct patrons to so they can get to you.