Google Maps mobile gets updated in celebration of $5 gas

Google Maps updated with public transit information and routing back in mid-2007 (see story here), but missing was a way to access that same layer of information on your mobile phone. Today that's changed with the latest version of Google's mobile maps app.

The updated service now includes searchable transit maps and schedules from more than 40 cities in the U.S. and close to 20 others around the globe. It also takes advantage of the built-in location finder to help you find transportation hubs that are nearby, saving you time from having to ask directions while out and about.

In the demo video embedded below, Google employee Ryan shows us a test trip from the city of San Francisco across the bay to Berkeley, while managing to showcase one of the app's cooler features, which I'm officially coining as the "drunk button." When toggled it lets you figure out how late you can stay out with just two button presses. Twenty-somethings are going to love this.

One thing that's missing, however, is the new Street View feature that was quickly demoed as part of Steve Horowitz's (Google's engineering director) presentation of the latest build of the Android OS at Google IO last month.

Google Maps mobile is free to use as long as you've got a data plan and a phone that's capable of running it. Some of the features should be expected to carry over to the version of Google Maps that resides on the iPhone, which has historically received bits and pieces of Google's updates shortly after new Google releases.

[Pank2008]

with the skyrocketing gas prices, perhaps browsing google maps will be the only travelling we do in the future

[Josh.Lowensohn]

That's incredibly depressing. Street View is usually sunny though, I'll give it that.

[videography]

The Google Map public transport service is indeed impressive. It will become a lot more so when they become more intermodal with regard to bicycle. For example the Walk range of an average person on a regular commute is a few miles per segment. On a bicycle that range triples or quadruples. The key issue is for transport and municipal authorities across the country to wake up an hear this . . . "Bicycles [rentals and parking] are to train depots, as Rent-a-cars and parking are to airports".

Bob Kiger aka "Cruiser Bob"
www.cruiserbob.com