Transport for London have finally produced a Google Map of bus routes in London. Mapperz is calling it "almost a contender for the best UK Map mashup ever".
Previously if you wanted a bus map in the UK capital you had to download a PDF file from the TFL website or visit an independent site like What Bus? to view bus routes on a Google Map.
It is possible to search the TFL Google Map for any bus route and see it and all the bus-stops on the route on a the map. The map includes clear directions and each stop has a timetable and a frequency indicator.
The map also includes optional night or daytime routes and a useful 'search for routes near here' feature.
The only real drawback to the TFL map is that it does not have real-time data about bus positions. TFL actually have this information (lots of bus-stops in London have a sign indicating how long it is to wait for the next bus). The map would be a lot more useful if you could click on a bus-stop on the map and see how long it was until the next bus arrived.
Mapperz says, if this were in 'real-time', similar to the real-time University of Michigan Magic Bus then this would be one of the best Google Map UK mashups ever."
As it is Mapperz says that, in his opinion, Met Office Invent is still the best UK Google Map mashup.
Via: Mapperz
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Certainly impressive, particularly with the timetables. However, if you go to onabus.com you can see routes in Google Maps and leap into Street View at any stop you fancy to see what your destination is like. Useful when you're going somewhere strange in London and want to get an idea of what it's like before travelling.
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