Tag Archives: Trip Planner

Trip planning on the go

Earlier today, I received a press release about Metro Mobile, a new, phone-friendly version of KC Metro’s Trip Planner created by benevolent bus rider Nicholas Barnard. I tried the tool for a few sample trips, and it works pretty well—at least, as well as can be expected on my somewhat bootleg phone.

The site lets you select from a list of default locations (libraries, the airport, et cetera). It also lets you set custom locations. Unfortunately, it doesn’t verify the locations before it saves them. I saved my home address, but when I tried to use it, I got that fun Metro page that asks you to select the correct address from a list of six possibilities, including the exact address you entered. It would be nice to be able to (re)select the correct address once and never have to see that page again. (Hey Metro, can we get that on the original Trip Planner, too?)

According to the press release, MM has a GPS feature that can detect your current location, but I couldn’t find it. Perhaps I need a fancier phone.

Even without address checking and GPS, Metro Mobile is a useful tool. I’ll definitely be using it in the real world.

Thanks, Nick!

It is too possible!

I’m a very big fan of software-assisted trip planning. Bus Nerd tends to use schedules, route maps, and his own brain to figure out how to get where he’s going, but I am quick to type in my start and end points and let Trip Planner (these days, via Spotbus) do the work for me. I use it at least once a day–even when I know which buses to take (not a big fan of reading multiple schedules). I absolutely cannot imagine my life without it.

But (gasp!) the mighty Trip Planner has its flaws. Here’s one:

A few days ago, Vlad, a transit type who will soon be moving to Seattle from Philly, e-mailed to ask how to get from 11th and Pike on Capitol Hill to 9800 Willows Rd NE in Redmond. His message implied that he had attempted to find the information himself but had been unsuccessful. Always up for a good bus challenge, I decided to try.

When I entered the addresses in Trip Planner (assuming he’d be traveling during peak hours on a weekday), I received this message:

#20007–Trip not possible
See Trip Planner Messages [link] for additional information and alternatives

To return to the previous page, use your browser’s Back button.

The “Trip Planner Messages” link leads to this:

Trip Planner Tips – Messages

At times, the Trip Planner will return a message instead of the information you requested. This section describes the most common messages and what they mean.

Some of the messages indicate that transit service is not available near a location or at the time you requested. There may still be alternatives that the Trip Planner can’t give you. Read more about those alternatives.

If you receive a message that does not seem correct, you can report it using the ‘Comments’ function at the top or bottom of each Trip Planner page or the ‘Feedback’ link on some pages.

• Dates – too far in the past or in the future [link]
• No query data [link]
• No service at origin (or destination) at the date/time specified [link]
• No stops within walking distance [link]
• No times available [link]
• Start & end locations are too near each other for transit to be of use [link]
• The Trip Planner system is currently being updated [link]
• Trip not possible [link]
• Walking distance exceeds one mile or is not safe [link]

You might remember that the original message for Vlad’s trip was, “Trip not possible”:

Trip not possible

More than one factor has caused the trip planner not to be able to respond. You may get better results by checking your entry for one of the conditions described above and making adjustments as noted, or there may be a suitable alternative to transit. [Hey!] Note: you may get this message when you are using the Schedule portion of the trip planner and not actually planning a trip

What actually fixed the problem was changing the answer to question #4 on the original form–What is the farthest distance you want to walk?–from the default of 1/2-mile to 3/4-mile. The resulting itineraries were far from convenient, but the trip was certainly possible.

A more specific and appropriate message could have made a huge difference here. A couple of stabs:

“The walking distance for this trip is longer than the distance you are willing to walk. Do you want to see the itinerary anyway?”

“The walking distance for this trip is longer than the distance you are willing to walk. Try changing the distance you are willing to walk.”

You get the picture. If those kinds of specific messages are too difficult to implement, how about a more helpful generic message that lists some likely reasons the trip did not work? I’d hate to put folks like Vlad off the bus before they even start riding it.