Google Maps to include NYC subway stops and building outlines

February 9, 2007 1:49 AM

a Google Maps view of NYC, centered on Central ParkGoogle Maps has started displaying subway stops (with the names of the lines that serve each each stop) in New York City. Clearly this is a work in progress (full building outlines are available only in some parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and some subway stops currently list only one of the multiple trains that serve the stop). Still, this is excellent news not only for natives but also for tourists (whose only subway-map reference may be the significantly, sometimes radically "not to scale" version put out by the MTA).
posted by allterrainbrain (46 comments total)

onNYTurf: NYC Subway Google Map Hack
posted by magullo at 2:10 AM on February 9, 2007

The onNYTurf map was a really valuable & impressive compromise before Google did this... but it can't combine views (for example, Google's Hybrid view shows satellite, streets & subway stops all at once) or show which subways actually stop at each point (especially vital for anyone who hasn't memorized express vs. local stops).
posted by allterrainbrain at 2:21 AM on February 9, 2007

googlefilter?
Map24 and mappy have both had metro stations for a while, and also for other cities, such as Washington, DC, Chicago, London, Paris, Brussels... Map24 also shows which line at which stop for some cities. (ny at least)

Map24 also has building outlines for many major cities.
Both have sat/hybrid views for some cities.
posted by nielm at 2:45 AM on February 9, 2007

Subway stops? Oh, you mean Tube stations.
posted by Luddite at 2:53 AM on February 9, 2007

Tube stations? Oh, you mean Tube lines.

(although it's a bit inaccurate in places)
posted by cillit bang at 3:11 AM on February 9, 2007

Luddite: "Subway stops? Oh, you mean Tube stations."

Cue a Goolefied game of this.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:11 AM on February 9, 2007

Rats on the rails!
posted by loquacious at 3:28 AM on February 9, 2007

It wasn't clear from the post, but it's not just New York. Boston and Philadelphia, for instance, also have them. Nothing yet in the Google Blog, nor any indication that it's going to do Google Transity things.
posted by Plutor at 3:37 AM on February 9, 2007

I've gone and lost The Game
posted by blasdelf at 3:39 AM on February 9, 2007

Tube lines? Oh, you mean the T.

Also: am I the only one who thinks this should have happened like three years ago? They can hook up all kinds of neatness, but they can't put freakin' subway stops?

Also also: what the fuck, huh? An M? Oh, how delightfully cosmopolitan. M for Metro, I suppose. But wouldn't it actually be more useful if it was, say, the A, C, E or the 1, 6? Yeah, I know it says it in small type next to the M. But still.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:40 AM on February 9, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

The onNYTurf map was a really valuable & impressive compromise before Google did this... but it can't combine views (for example, Google's Hybrid view shows satellite, streets & subway stops all at once) or show which subways actually stop at each point

I don't get it... the Google thing doesn't seem to show which Subway line any given stop belongs to. onNYTurf color-codes the lines, and if you mouseover any stop, it shows what lines stop there. Plus, you can save map pins to your account. Google only lets you save favorites in a separate page, and you can't see them represented as clickable pins simultaneously shown on the map.
posted by rxrfrx at 4:01 AM on February 9, 2007

No MARTA?


Google!!! *shakes fist*
posted by Cyclopsis Raptor at 4:05 AM on February 9, 2007

I didn't know there was an M train in NYC.
posted by R. Mutt at 4:19 AM on February 9, 2007

R. Mutt: M Line
posted by rxrfrx at 4:25 AM on February 9, 2007

This is nice to have, but not nearly as useful as the GMaps mashup on the MBTA's new website, which can overlay every single bus and subway route it runs, and display your trip plan directly onto the map. It's by far the most competent thing they've ever done, even if for a while it forgot there was an Orange Line on Fridays.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:35 AM on February 9, 2007

Horace Rumpole, I agree, wholeheartedly. It's pretty awesome. (Although some of the non-mashed-up parts of the site could use a little work. Why would I want all fourty columns on the bus schedule?) Now, if only the new MBTA site could handle a huge rush of, say, eight hits per day.

That's why I'm hoping Google takes this the next couple of steps and does it themselves. I don't like it when my trip planning makes me late for the bus.
posted by Plutor at 4:38 AM on February 9, 2007

allterrainbrain: onNYTurf does show which trains stop at which stations; rolling over each station with your mouse brings up a window showing the station name and the trains that serve it.
posted by saladin at 4:52 AM on February 9, 2007

Oops, rxrfrx beat me to it.
posted by saladin at 4:52 AM on February 9, 2007

OnNYCTurf's map is way better then the google one ATM. They also map current events like the atlantic yards on google maps as well. There's also a .kml map for google earth of all the subways, AND the LIRR, PATH, HBLR, and Newark Light Rail, which is pretty awesome. I also have one of these: a stainless steel map of the subways in manhattan. You can get them for $15 at the Flight 001 store, I'm planning on making some vector art to laser cut the rest of the system on the blank back.
posted by Mach5 at 4:58 AM on February 9, 2007

Also, on the OnNYCTurf Map, try zooming in all the way on any station in manhattan. THAT is the coolest feature ever. Soon to be added for the rest of the boroughs.
posted by Mach5 at 5:01 AM on February 9, 2007

Woo-hoo. Another incremental improvement - in this case one that's about half way done. What's the opposite of excitement and enthusiasm?
posted by rhymer at 5:10 AM on February 9, 2007

This changes EVERYTHING...
posted by lovejones at 5:16 AM on February 9, 2007

About fucking time.
posted by fungible at 5:18 AM on February 9, 2007

Horace Rumpole: That new MBTA mashup admits that walking is faster than the Green Line
posted by mkb at 5:24 AM on February 9, 2007

No MARTA? Google!!! *shakes fist*

Huh? I see MARTA stations when looking at Atlanta. No rail line labeling, but the Atlanta system is rudimentary enough that it should be obvious which line it's on.
posted by intermod at 5:27 AM on February 9, 2007

LOL. Yahoo maps has had the subway stations for years.

This is a major case of so what.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:36 AM on February 9, 2007

mkb: Hey, you'll notice I limited my praise to "most competent thing they've ever done." I've certainly gotten weird results from time to time, but on the whole, I think it's a pretty impressive effort. Plutor's right about its performance under traffic, however.

BTW, if like me you care enough about the T to post to this thread, you might enjoy the Charlie on the MBTA blog.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:01 AM on February 9, 2007

A helpful addition would be the actual exits. E.g. You can exit Columbus Circle (59th & 8th) @ 57th & 8th. As for Union Sq...
posted by i_cola at 6:04 AM on February 9, 2007

It wasn't clear from the post, but it's not just New York. Boston and Philadelphia, for instance, also have them.

Baltimore has it, too, for its light rail and subway stops -- not that anybody uses the subway in Baltimore.
posted by TBoneMcCool at 6:21 AM on February 9, 2007

Tube? You mean U-Bahn.
posted by oaf at 6:23 AM on February 9, 2007

What, no Pittsburgh? Oh right, we only have four subway stations.
posted by octothorpe at 6:24 AM on February 9, 2007

OP here: Thanks for pointing out what I missed about the onNYTurf map.

The reason this is exciting & newsworthy to me: Google is enough of a default mapping choice that out of towners naturally use and trust it. Have you seen how many supposed NYC maps -- including the MTA's official subway map -- have either limited info or confusing info about subway stops, subway lines, and the geographic relationship of one line to another?

I see so many tourists using the MTA's map and being led completely astray by it (especially in lower Manhattan, where it implies the exact opposite of the truth in some cases, even crossing lines so people start walking the wrong way trying get from one line to the other).
posted by allterrainbrain at 6:31 AM on February 9, 2007

a Google Maps view of SLC, centered on Pioneer Park
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:38 AM on February 9, 2007

I can't wait until they do this for Washington DC.

Until then there's this, which adds a couple of cool functions like telling you how far a stop is from an address, which is very convenient when you're looking for an apartment.
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 8:04 AM on February 9, 2007

None of these sites can answer a simple question:

Why didn't Charlie's wife just hand him a nickel along with the sandwich?
posted by staggernation at 8:40 AM on February 9, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Can someone tell me why they can't actually put where the entrances are? Now that would be useful.
posted by dame at 8:53 AM on February 9, 2007

How new is this? I remember seeing transit stations on Google Maps quite a while ago. They list all of the Caltrain and BART stations.
posted by drstein at 9:07 AM on February 9, 2007

Even better:

This (blows gmaps and onNYTurf away)

This isn't bad (for information junkies)

This is nice for foodies

This is a work in progress, but hey, it's pizza.
posted by ericbop at 9:14 AM on February 9, 2007

There is one for dc:

DCRails
posted by empath at 9:35 AM on February 9, 2007

This (blows gmaps and onNYTurf away)

Wow! Thanks erichop, I'm gonna send this url to everyone who's comes to visit me from now on. Much appreciated.
posted by tiger yang at 10:49 AM on February 9, 2007

Google is behind. I use HopStop anytime I need approximate times or directions. You can map it out using Yahoo Maps on their site.
posted by cmgonzalez at 12:39 PM on February 9, 2007

HopStop is not always the best asnswer for complicated subway journeys. I ran a few tests using difficult routes I know, and it almost consistently gave the worst choice. I know a lot of folks like it, but beware.
posted by dame at 12:52 PM on February 9, 2007

No MARTA?


Google!!! *shakes fist*

Huh? People ride Marta?!?!
(seriously, every time I ride that thing during the summer, it's not ventilated and I end up nearly getting heat stroke. I bloody hate Marta).
posted by jmd82 at 3:14 PM on February 9, 2007

This is my preferred NYC subway navigator. But first I plot out my destination using this or this. Coping skills, people. It's a jungle out there.
posted by Urban Hermit at 11:33 PM on February 9, 2007

No MARTA? Google!!! *shakes fist*

Huh? I see MARTA stations when looking at Atlanta. No rail line labeling, but the Atlanta system is rudimentary enough that it should be obvious which line it's on.

Seriously. Up, down, left, right. Switch at Lindbergh after 9PM. Everything meets a Five Points.

If you carry a rosary, you don't even need a system map.

Also:
Huh? People ride Marta?!?!
(seriously, every time I ride that thing during the summer, it's not ventilated and I end up nearly getting heat stroke. I bloody hate Marta).

Spoken exactly like somebody who doesn't ride MARTA. It aggravates me when I see these sorts of bullshit comments from people who obviously just don't like or use public transit. See also: "It doesn't go anywhere!".
posted by Human Stain at 8:55 AM on February 10, 2007

Sorry, I was looking at Google Transit. It had like, Tampa, New York, and other towns I've never been to nor care about, but no Atlanta. I usually forget to be clear.

Also: MARTA rules. It's better than driving.

And I was in Antartica, that's why it took so long to reply..yeah.
posted by Cyclopsis Raptor at 8:12 PM on February 20, 2007