I took the bus from Farragut West to Georgetown to window shop after work yesterday, and was surprised by how quick the trip was, considering it was 5:30 on a Thursday evening. One could take the Circulator or 38B to Georgetown, and the Metro Connection or 38B on to Rosslyn (beware, the Metro Connection only takes exact change). I don’t know if I just lucked out, but with the combination of headways on the different lines, I waited less than 5 minutes for both rides.
I also saw an ad for the District DOT’s goDCgo.com, hence this post. Some observations:
- The site is a decent aggregator of links to information on various transportation modes
- “Find it Fast” map is slow to load
- When it does load, the map is pretty
- The map provides some useful layers that can be toggled on and off (bike paths, circulator, metro routes, etc.)
- The metro layer actually shows where the metro exits will put you on the street, and the underground path you’d take to get there, using elegant arrows
So THAT's where Metro Center really is...
- If you open too many layers, the whole site bogs down and scrolling is painful
- Only driving directions are available
In general, I’m at least glad the District is making an effort to put this information together, but it’s possible that the simple release of schedule information will result in more useful applications. Is it too much to ask for someone to compile all of the transit, walking, driving, and biking data and come up with a mapping application that tells you the best way to travel at a given time of day and with a given set of options (e.g., It’s 5:30pm, no car, but biking or bus are ok)? Yeah, maybe so, but one can dream, right?
Go2Town 