urbanMSP

July? That's rather bizarre. Do you think maybe they don't see it as a priority because LRT service is more frequent? Not very comforting in -10 temps.

Seems odd.

Really? They've left it broken for how many years, planning to fix it when the Green Line opened, and now they're still going to miss the opening?

Is it broken if it never worked in the first place?

Fair point.

Whoever runs UrbanMSP's twitter (is that Nick?) actually messaged @MetroTransitMN and pointed them at this thread, and they said they'd look into it.

Wasn't me, a few people use it.

It was me. Don't worry, it was 100% professional and not overly accusatory.

I was super impressed that it got a response from them, A+ social networking Metro Transit.

I think the LRT didn't have NexTrip because of the patent troll addressed in this article: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commut ... roll/6041/

I was super impressed that it got a response from them, A+ social networking Metro Transit.

Totally agreed. I didn't realize how responsive they are when I made this thread. I'll utilize their Twitter next time I experience any issues, they seem good at getting it to the right people.

It's kind of annoying to have to resort to putting a company on blast in public in order to get some results, but I guess that's the way it goes. I just tweeted Metro Transit to find out if Google Maps will have the Green Line information before day 1 of operation.

Is there some way Metro Transit can make Google Maps do anything? How would they know anything Google Maps is going to do?

As someone whose job involves solving people's problems, they can't be addressed unless they're known. A Twitter mention is hardly a "blast" especially since they way it was done, only people that follow both @UrbanMSP and @MetroTransitMN would see the tweet:

Is there some way Metro Transit can make Google Maps do anything? How would they know anything Google Maps is going to do?

They can make sure that the information is present in the data that they export for use by Google Maps and similar third-party applications. Whether Google checks for updates in a timely fashion is of course up to Google.

Google picks up on bus route changes at about the same time as they come into effect, so I'd imagine that the Green Line will be similar.

I haven't tried tracking it to verify, but the relevant datafinder.org page says Metro Transit updates their GTFS feed on a weekly basis. They go through major updates several times per year, such as when the University of Minnesota begins and ends its normal sessions, and to match the roughly quarterly "pick dates". As far as I've been able to tell, they've managed to keep things pretty up-to-date. Things like minor detours that only last a couple of days typically don't get included, but they generally do make updates when detours will be in effect for a week or more. There are also regular updates to take account for holidays.

There will be a bunch of bus route changes coinciding with the Green Line's opening -- The LRT line is far from the only change next month.

I was not suggesting that they would or could make Google do anything, just have it in the format that Google requires, as mentioned above. A friend of a friend worked for a smaller transit agency and said that the challenge was getting their data into the desired Google format.

I'm actually interested in knowing if they will push that data fairly close to the first date. I won't speculate as to why or why not they might delay it.

The data makes its way into the MT Trip Planner about a month before changes go into effect, not too sure about the Google Maps, but I'm sure they keep up on that as a lot of people use Gmaps for bus routes.

Extremely harsh winter conditions - extreme cold, large amounts of snow, blowing snow - make for a very challenging environment to operate a train line.

aka, conditions in MN six months out of the year.

Um, no, not even close. This past winter the train was frequently off schedule. Day after day of failing to make it to ten degrees is not a typical winter. Winter 12/13 was colder than normal but the trains ran very well.

I think you guys are evaluating the line without considering the weather and construction challenges. I was frustrated by it too. Now that the weather has cleared, Target Field tail tracks have opened and the Green Line construction is done, the train is performing much better.

If I can log on to Uber on my phone and see every independently owned black town car in the city, I dont see how difficult it would be so see every train on a fixed track.

I think you guys are evaluating the line without considering the weather and construction challenges. I was frustrated by it too. Now that the weather has cleared, Target Field tail tracks have opened and the Green Line construction is done, the train is performing much better.

Sean is right, though. You can't build something in Minnesota and then be surprised when heavy snow comes along. Part of the role of maintaining that system is making sure it's reliable, even in the winter. Granted, my experiences have all been post-winter since I just moved here at the start of April.

That being said, I'm certainly not bashing Metro Transit for the problems. It sure beats what I'm used to in Indianapolis.