3MF

Getting around in Ann Arbor

One of the things i like best about living in Ann Arbor so far is the public transportation. Luckily for me there is a bus stop right outside my apartment complex; and if i flash my UM ID to the bus driver, i ride for free. My school building is just a few stops away. My car's fuel tank still contains gas from Grand Rapids.

The only problem i have with the bus system is the lack of a good service map. The Ann Arbor Transit Authority has two types of route maps available on their site but each has a significant drawback. There is a route specific map [PDF] that gives the times that the bus is scheduled to arrive at selected stops on the route. The time table is accompanied by a stylized road map that shows some major locations along the route but doesn't show exactly where it runs though the city. Because it doesn't show any of the streets just off the route, its hard to figure out just how close to your destination it runs.

The second map is an overview of all of the routes. This map is hard to read because seven of the routes are the same color and they overlap at various places which makes it difficult to tell where exactly the bus runs. Additionally this map, like the other, doesn't indicate where all of the bus stops are. A few are listed but there's no way to tell if there is one closer to your destination. When i'm actually on the bus, i'd like to have a good idea of where i'll be getting off when i pull the cord. I wish there was a version of each route specific map that overlaid the route on a city map and listed every one of the stops.

The UM Parting and Transportation Services department does have a helpful website called Magic Bus that uses GPS devices to show exact locations of the currently running buses and overlays that information on a Google Map of the city. Plus they've flagged each of the stops along the route. Unfortunately this service is only available for a few of the routes that UM operates itself and not the AATA routes that i use. I really wish something like this existed for all busses in Ann Arbor.

Posted by Matthew at July 21, 2007 12:29 PM