Re: Testing Google Transit Trip Planner locally - fed with test data

You won't find most US transit data in any standard formats, nor in
many cases online at all outside of a PDF format. Every service
provider uses their own format to meet their own needs. No standard
data type exists (to my knowledge) outside of the schedule planning
software.

While I've seen a few services offer schedules off a server, I've never
seen any that give public access outside their own interface. Unlikely
many would be willing - they invest a lot in their image, and the way
they present schedules is a big part of their image (their image is
very important, not because it attracts riders, but because it's key to
their subsidy and thus their survival)

You could also try a local university engineering or compsci department
that's playing with trip-planners; they usually have a set of test data
from a local agency.

Interestingly, Google's first pass has fallen into the most common
traps of transit trip-planning - providing only one solution. It also
suffers from a poor input method (so far), no variable friction factors
(yet) for transfers or walk distance, no flag (yet) for bike or
wheelchair access trips, and a couple other issues. Back in the 1970s,
Portland's Tri-Met developed one of the first on-line trip-planning
systems, with downtown kiosks. They quickly found out that people like
choices. Over 90% of users chose the default trip, but were *much* more
satisfied with the experience when presented choices.

-Ian