Fascinating to hear the back story. Was the initial transit data from authorities real time data? And if it was not real time data, how did that come about?
Around this same time, the first sensors were on some busses and trains, but transit agencies hadn't invested heavily in them. The usage of real time sensors grew rapidly around this same time, in parallel — which was such a great win for all of us!
Yes, the smaller agencies didn’t have teams to support online websites, whereas the larger cities did. So Google’s distribution was an asset for the smaller agencies.
As for 20% time, I’ve anecdotally heard the same thing. 20% time + Labs was definitely an incredible vehicle for innovation!
Fascinating to hear the back story. Was the initial transit data from authorities real time data? And if it was not real time data, how did that come about?
Around this same time, the first sensors were on some busses and trains, but transit agencies hadn't invested heavily in them. The usage of real time sensors grew rapidly around this same time, in parallel — which was such a great win for all of us!
Interesting how the small cities were the ones originally signing on with Google Transit.
I’ve heard anecdotally that Google’s 20% rule isn’t really a thing these days - I wonder how that’s impacting their innovation…
Yes, the smaller agencies didn’t have teams to support online websites, whereas the larger cities did. So Google’s distribution was an asset for the smaller agencies.
As for 20% time, I’ve anecdotally heard the same thing. 20% time + Labs was definitely an incredible vehicle for innovation!