San Benito County’s transit agency is setting up an online
”
one-stop center
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for trip planning on bus routes throughout the region.
San Benito County’s transit agency is setting up an online “one-stop center” for trip planning on bus routes throughout the region.
County Express this summer will partner with Google in establishing a growing program that helps transit riders better plan their trips through an online database of options throughout the region that helps to chart the most convenient routes available.
The Council of San Benito County Governments is funding the effort through a $50,000 federal grant that has been approved. Every year, Caltrans on behalf of the federal government awards such grants for transportation planning, said Betty LiOwen, a transportation planner with COG who updated board members of the program Thursday.
“What it does is, once all that data is uploaded to Google Transit, people can better trip plan” rather than “fiddle with paper,” LiOwen said, or having to call the various agencies to get help in coordinating a trip.
Google Transit notes on its website how nearly 450 cities now are covered by the system. COG does not expect any major ongoing costs because someone can be trained on updating the necessary coding, LiOwen said. She expects a request for proposals on the project to go out in June or July.
