Transport organisations in New York are reportedly working with search engine Google to provide an online transit guide for the Big Apple.According to Bloomberg, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the city and New Jersey Transit are collaborating over the development of an internet city guide, which will include maps, schedules and route planners.
Christoph Oehler, product manager for maps and transit at Google, has not yet confirmed that the search engine is in talks with the two agencies.
However, in a telephone interview with Bloomberg, assistant executive director of New Jersey Transit Jim Redeker said: "We are always looking for ways to incorporate technology in what we do."
He added that Google has "good experience at making this work".
By this, he was referring to the fact that Google already provides similar guides for around 12 other cities in the US, including San Diego and Dallas.
New York is a bigger city, though, with the two aforementioned agencies dealing with nine million people each day.
Commenting on the possibility of Google providing a transit guide for New York, a member of the city's university told Bloomberg: "Most people know Google. That's actually a very powerful way to get the information in one place, in a way that most people are familiar with."
Google Transit as it currently stands lets people work out their most useful route via public transport. Users type in the times, dates, starting points and destinations of their journeys.
