Vancouver is not a particularly transit friendly city. We have a car culture. All that is going to change in February and March 2010, when 45,000 athletes, officials, media and volunteers travel to and from Olympic venues. Vehicular restrictions make using transit a necessity. Add those to regular commuters, new commuters, spectators getting to and from Olympic events and regular folk just trying to get around in their regular lives.

You’ll need to be prepared; know which buses/trains to take and where to transfer. Your computer and your iPod/iPhone will be your best tools. Translink does have a pocket map showing routes in the area. My head hurts when I try to read it and I’m familiar with the city and transit routes!

I use my computer to help me get around using transit. The most powerful tool is Google Maps. Yes, Google Maps provides transit information for most cities. I prefer this service to the Translink web page and it’s a common display for almost any city your in.

On the Google Maps home page, click on the Get Directions link (top left of your screen). a and b where are you starting from and where are you going. You need to use the city name in the address.

You can key in an exact address, the nearest intersection, the business name or the venue name. You’ll be given a list of destinations. Click on the one you want.

The next screen shows you the next three transit combinations that will get you to your destination. At this time, there’s no transit service to the oval, but closer to February, service will be established. The approximate travel time is also displayed.

Suppose you have to be at your destination for a certain time. Click on Show Options just under the start and destination fields. You’ll see that you can specify the departure or arrival time and date of your trip. Click on Get Directions and the display will reflect that date and time. The times are quite reliable, though I would err on the conservative side during peak hours.

You can magnify the map, to show you cross streets on your trip.

To display the return trip, click on the double arrow symbol to the right of the start and destination fields. You can change the arrival and departure times for the return trip.

You can print the directions, with or without the map.

Next time, we’ll talk about the iPod/iPhone applications for transit in Vancouver.

Bonnie Sainsbury is a Social Media Strategist and Principal in Duet Media. She doesn’t own a private automobile, she used transit and car-coops to get around the city.