Google Maps launched with LTA traffic data

Straits Times 20 Nov 09;

COMMUTERS now have one more online resource with which to plan their car or public transport journey. Online search giant Google yesterday launched the Singapore version of Google Maps, with traffic information from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) updated every few minutes.

It is one of the handful of sites online with data from LTA, amid several providing a similar service.

Gothere.sg, for example, has its own source of live traffic data and works in a similar way, but also throws in taxi fares and tips on avoiding Electronic Road Pricing gantries. At the Google site, found at www.maps.google.com.sg, commuters can get directions, journey time, distance and traffic conditions, including where there are road works.

Users can also find out the likely traffic conditions for, say, early afternoon on the coming Sunday - with the system showing how road conditions have been on recent Sundays along that route at that hour. And if a driver wants to take an alternative to the recommended route, he only needs to drag an on-screen marker for the navigation results to adjust accordingly.

LTA's chief executive Yam Ah Mee said: 'This service complements our existing services like the bus arrival time panels and public transport journey planner. It gives commuters a choice of how they want to get their information.'

Google's head of product management for South-east Asia, Mr Andrew McGlinchey, said more information will be added to the site. Google has anecdotal evidence that drivers who use its maps have been known to opt for the bus or train where public transport promised to be quicker.

LTA said it hopes the new service will boost public transport's share of morning peak-hour journeys.

Rednano.sg

# Gives directions to drivers and has a search function for telephone and business directories

# Runs a scrolling newsfeed listing traffic incidents on the road

Gothere.sg

# Gives directions to drivers, and bus, rail and taxi commuters

# Includes the cost of the journey on public transport, carpark locations and rates, and Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges

Streetdirectory.com

# Gives directions to drivers and public transport commuters

# Offers suggestions on the quickest route, or routes on major roads or expressways

Oneshift.com

# Gives directions to drivers

# Indicates petrol stations, nearby carparks, speed cameras and ERP gantries

It's map-tastic!
Traffic data on a free map - a first for Singapore
Hedirman Supian, Today Online 20 Nov 09;

SINGAPORE - My main gripe about public transport is how dependent your journey is on traffic conditions. Now, thanks to a tie-up between the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Google, I can plan my next trip by bus or MRT and steer clear from heavy traffic.

The two entities have collaborated to make Singapore the first country in the world to get a comprehensive and free island-wide online maps service with driving or walking routes and public transport directions accompanied by live traffic data on Google Maps (maps.google.com.sg/transport).

So, when you search for driving directions on Google Maps via an Internet browser, you can easily switch to a route that will get you to your destination via public transport or by foot. On top of that, you can view live traffic conditions.

You can also plan routes and view traffic data on the go, as long as it's on devices that come with Google Maps for Mobile, like the Apple iPhone or smartphones based on the Google-championed Android operating system.

Under the terms of the collaboration, LTA provided live traffic feeds and routes and schedules of public transport.

Google worked with local company Quantum Inventions to integrate LTA's data into Google Maps.

What's also interesting about the Google Maps platform is that users or developers can develop mini-applications (or a mapplet) that mash up or integrate the many layers of data on Google Maps to provide useful tools.

"On Google Maps, you can get public transit routes or turn on the traffic layer, then add (or mash up) additional layers like Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), carpark finder, petrol finder, highway cameras or more," said Mr Andrew McGlinchey, head of product management, Google South-east Asia. For example, there is an incidents mapplet that uses LTA's data to display detailed real-time traffic incidents, construction works and road closures island-wide.

Similarly, gothere.sg, a popular local online maps service, provides bus, train and taxi fares and driving directions with ERP charges as well.

Google, LTA launch travel planning service
Samuel Ee Business Times 20 Nov 09;

GOOGLE Maps' public transit and traffic features were unveiled in Singapore yesterday - the first time the online mapping giant has launched both features together in any country.

A new Google site - maps.google.com.sg - was created for the free service, which can also be accessed from mobile devices.

Google collaborated with the Land Transport Authority, which provided key transit and traffic information such as live traffic feeds and public bus and MRT routes and schedules.

According to Google Southeast Asia's head of communications Dickson Seow, the joint effort began in April and the fast implementation was due to the quality of LTA data.

'Singapore is a good case study to launch features for commuters,' Mr Seow said. 'The transit system is highly efficient and integrated.'

Users of the Google service can 'get directions' in three ways - by car, by public transport or walking. There is also a 'traffic' to reveal the degree of congestion, ranging from slow to fast.

Mr Seow said that by making both features - public transit and traffic - available, people can better plan their journey by choosing the faster mode.

For example, if a particular route by car shows heavy traffic on the roads, they can opt to take the bus or train instead.

There are various online map platforms in Singapore that offer public transit or traffic features, but no other that offers both.

In 2007, the US was the first country to make use of Google's traffic and transit features.

Since then, the transit feature has been launched in 400 cities, but only seven countries - including Singapore - have access to the traffic feature.

To set up the service in Singapore, Google invested in engineering resources that included bringing over its London-based geo-spatial technologist to work on the project. Mr Seow declined to say how much it cost, though he added that there was 'no charge to LTA'.

According to LTA, Singapore has a daily public transport patronage of six million, travelling by bus, taxi and train, and there more than 870,000 other vehicles on the roads.