Google Maps Adds Real-Time Subway Departure Data

Google announced on Wednesday that its popular mapping app Google Maps has incorporated real time arrival and departure information for several New York City subway lines including the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 trains as well as the Times Square Shuttle.

That’s not the first time that Google Maps users will see a departure time at a subway station for those train lines. But previous departure information, like that provided for the rest of the subway system, is based on the scheduled departures of subway trains.

Google isn't the first private developer to pull data from the Mass Transit Authority (MTA) for developing an app; there are a couple of popular apps out there already including NextStop, SchedNYC and others, however Google is definitely the most well known. 

While this is a good start, there's still another hurdle which is getting the same real time information for the other two-thirds of the NYC subway system. Unfortunately those tracks don't have the same signal system and are several years and millions of dollars away.

MTA engineers are reportedly working on a temporary solution to the problem. 

Wonder About The View 22,000 Feet Out?

Google is constantly looking to make adjustments to Google Maps and allowing people to explore the world, including the places that few people ever get to see with their own eyes. If you've ever had a fear of heights or just don't have mountain climbing experience then Google has got some good news... the company just started adding images of some of the highest vantages on the planet so you can get a view from the comforts of your own home!

In various expeditions that were done by Google employees in 2011 and 2012, Google revealed in its blog that it has been able to add images for four (Mount Elbrus in Europe, Mount Everest in Asia, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa,  and Aconcagua in South America) of seven of the tallest mountains (Seven Summits) on each of the world continents. No need to worry about acclimating to the high altitudes!

The 360 degree panoramic views that you're able to see were done by taking photographs by Google employees and then stitching them together with Google's proprietary software which it uses for creating street views.

Prior to the addition of Aconcagua, the highest vantage point that was in Google Street View was Colorado's Mount Evans which has an elevation of a little over 14,000 feet.