By: Rachel Heiligman, Transport for NOLA
Earlier this year, the RTA committed to release their transit data for use by third parties. In March, the RTA made their map and schedule data public. Planning your transit trips became much easier when Google Maps picked up the data and began offering directions by transit. Google continues to innovate – now their maps feature every bus and streetcar stop. By clicking on the stop, you can access a list of the routes that service that stop and their upcoming departure times.
New transit stops feature in Google Maps
Have you ever wondered how far you can get riding public transit in a given amount of time? Mapnificent makes it possible to map that distance while changing the length of time and time of day. From UNO, a 30-minute bus ride will get you to New Orleans East, Mid-City, Lakeview and the Marigny.
Where transit takes you from UNO in 30 minutes
These tools are just the beginning. On July 12, a new tool for bike and transit riders will be unveiled at the GOOD Ideas for New Orleans event.
We’re still waiting for the RTA to follow up with their release of real-time bus and streetcar data. They’ve put out their own ETA tool in a limited release to get feedback on the data’s reliability. Transport for NOLA continues to support the real-time release by connecting the RTA with local software developers. At the RTA’s June Board meeting, we offered a $30,000 challenge grant to help the RTA overcome technical hurdles in getting the data out and setting a target release date of August 10th. We remain a committed partner of the RTA’s and look forward to sharing news of the release and even more transit tools with you in the near future.