Go, Busmonster, Go.

Have you seen this? Especially if you live in the Seattle area? It's one of my new favourite sites: http://busmonster.com/

It's still no Boston System Map, since you can't see all of the connections and all of the transportation options, but it was good enough to make me get my work-benefits bus pass and start riding #245 to work. Public transportation is great: a walk on either end, free time to read or knit, and I don't have to contend with the other drivers -- so many of them aggravate me. It's nicer not to have to think about how slowly/erratically/cluelessly the guy next to you is driving. I know a lot of people (and date one of them), who think of their car as an private oasis, where they control everything, can burn off the irritations of the day, and get to spend time alone communing with themselves. Though I loved having my license in high school, the novelty has long since worn off -- I could really do without having to drive places every day. Long trips to see new places? Sure. Going through the 17 stoplights it takes to get from home to work? Nah.

Which brings us back to busmonster. Click the "Routes" link at the top of the page, type in 245, and you can see the entire route, complete with stops and the current locations of in-service buses! Pretty cool. :-) And then, if you click on the individual stops (look like tear drops), and then show all routes, it lists everything coming through for the next half hour! Good for connections. :-) And then, if you need to see the other rootes that go through a stop, you can enter them in with commas and see where they all go! Good for exploring. :-) And I know it's nothing new, but I love the traffic status. I don't really use it, I just think it's clever.