Imgur via Reddit

Awesome road trip story as narrated by Redditor rufflesdance… with NO GPS!  If you are an avid motorcyclist and harbor a desire down in the trenches of your mind, I sincerely recommend you to check out the comments section of his Reddit post where he has shared info. and answered tons of questions from fellow motorcycle enthusiasts. It was mindboggling how much he has learned and observed as he shared many little nuggets of wisdom from this road trip. If you have a hard time reading the detailed narrative underneath each of the photographs, click here. Drop a note in the comments section if you like this post.

(Source: Faster Forward blog – Washington Post)

Upgrading Transit’s Interface: Metro Releases Google Transit Data

This morning, Metro’s Web site has a new page with a title not normally seen on the online presences of transit agencies: “Developer Resources.”

Photo Courtesy: Mymetrostop@Flickr

That page offers a download of Metro’s bus and rail schedules inGoogle Transit Feed Specification format, ready for any developer to download and reuse in a Web page or in a standalone program. (At the moment, clicking through the user agreement on the page only sends you back to the user agreement, but I’m sure somebody at Metro will correct that soon enough. Right?)

 In doing this, Metro is following the example of a lot of smart Web sites — but too few government agencies — by letting the rest of the world re-use, re-publish and mash up its data. The immediate effect of a GTFS download may only be the addition of Metro rail and bus routes to thetransit guidance offered on Google Maps (assuming the Mountain View, Calif., Web firm doesn’t object to Metro’s terms of use). That alone should make Metro’s services far more “discoverable,” to use a little human-interface jargon. But when anybody else can play this game, the possibilities are wide open.

In the same way that Web developers have used Google Maps tools to build crafty sites charting everything from real-estate sales to campaign donations, people will be able to build Web sites, widgets and programs using Metro’s data in ways that the company hasn’t thought of and may never dream up on its own.

For a sense of the possibilities, look over this interview from last year, in which two managers in Portland, Oregon’s Tri-Met transit agency explain how independent developers and other government agencies are building useful software and services off their data feeds with minimal cost and effort.

(Source: TreeHugger)

Image: New York Subway Map by Zero Per Zero

We like talking about promoting public transit here on Treehugger and at Planet Green, noting that cities and countries that get it right can create a very positive image that in turn steers more people towards leaving their car at home. So, I was happy to see Zero Per Zero, a Seoul-based design team, re-thinking railmaps and subway maps. Using bright colours and a big dose of humour, Kim Ji-Kwan and Jin Sol from Hongik University are now in Tokyo to display their work.

The maps come in a small folder with stickers for marking favorite spots, restaurants, appointments, hotel locations, and major attractions. When traveling, the folder can also be used to jot down notes and to hold transit passes, tickets, and more. Made of paper.

Click here to read the entire article, which has a couple of more cool pictures.