From PortlandAfoot

This Trip Planner Guide is Portland Afoot's guide to transit and multimodal trip planners in the Portland area. Transit trip planners are applications (usually on the web or on your smartphone) that help you plan trips on public transit.

If you've never made a particular trip before, they can make your life a lot easier: no need to spend time checking maps for the relevant routes and transfer points and schedules to see when they line up. Just put in your starting point, destination, and trip time, and they'll give you some options.

The main trip planners are fairly intuitive and you definitely don't need to read this whole guide to use them. But consider this page an advanced training.

Contents 1 Web-based planners 1.1 Other planners 2 Trip planners: the basics 3 Understanding the results 3.1 Additional tips for understanding trips 4 Tips for getting the best results 4.1 Start and End Points 4.2 Transferring 4.3 Time 4.4 General tips 5 Inter-agency Trips 6 Multimodal Trips 6.1 Important differences with TriMet's new Regional Trip Planner

[edit] Web-based planners

For the Portland area, the main trip planners available are the TriMet trip planners (either the basic planner or the interactive planner) and Google Maps Transit. The TriMet trip planners can only plan trips using TriMet and within the TriMet service area. Google Maps Transit can plan any trip throughout the area covered by participating transit agencies.

[edit] Other planners

Two other transit agencies that connect to TriMet, CAT (Columbia Area Transit) and SMART Transit have their own trip planners, which are interfaces to Google Transit.

C-Tran, which operates transit in Clark County, WA, including Vancouver, has its own trip planner, and does not interface with Google Transit.

Sandy Area Metro, Tillamook County Transit District, Columbia County Transit, and Cherriots (in Salem) have their data available on Google Transit, but do not have their own interfaces, so the only way to use them through a trip planner interface is through Google Transit.

For more information on transit agencies interchanging with Trimet, consult The Interfaces on Portland Transport.

Amtrak data is also available in Google Maps Transit. Because of the lack of C-Tran data, it's sometimes used if you plan a trip to Vancouver.

[edit] Trip planners: the basics

This section covers basic use of the two main web trip planners. Thanks to TriMet's open-data policy, there are also many Android and iPhone apps and customized web trip planners which offer a different interface to TriMet's trip planning capabilities. Portland Afoot has reviews of most TriMet apps. All TriMet-approved apps are also on the agency's website.

1. Open the web page for your trip planner.
2. Input your start and end points. You can always use either intersections (joined by "and" or "&") or street addresses. Google Transit and TriMet also allow you to use landmarks, but depending on what the landmark is, it may or may not be recognized. On the TriMet trip planner, you can also identify a location by its stop ID.
3. Enter the time you want to start the trip. The default is to leave your start location now.
4. Check out the "trip preferences" (on Google, click Show options) for walking distance, factors to optimize, and what kinds of transit you're willing to use.
5. Click Plan trip or Get Directions and check out your results. This should give you a pretty good idea of what your options are.

[edit] Understanding the results

You usually get several results for trip possibilities. TriMet's planner automatically shows the first result in detail, with a summary at the bottom, and other options shown in summary form further down (interactive planner) or on another tab (basic planner). Google Maps shows several options with departure and arrival times and an outline of the modes used, then shows the details of the first trip. In both cases, if you want to see detail of the other trips, click on the trip summary or name.

Both planners default to showing you three options if there are at least that many. The first one will usually be the best (TriMet makes this explicit by labeling it "Your best bet"), but it's worth giving the others a quick check in case you prefer one of them.

The longer description of the trip will usually include three major parts:

• initial walk and time/distance
• route name and boarding and exit times for the bus or train
• final walk and time/distance

The first and second parts will be repeated if there's a transfer involved.

The first and/or last part will be missing if you've selected a Stop ID as the start or end of the trip (TriMet) or the intersection where the stop is located (Google Maps).

The route name shown always includes the route number and usually includes the direction as well. The TriMet planner usually includes the official route name (e.g. 17 Holgate/NW 21st) and also shows stop names and Stop IDs in the trip description. To get stop names and IDs in Google Maps, click the bus portion of the trip and the map will show a popup. The route description will also lengthen to include “Penultimate stop” (the stop just before the one you want).

The stop names given are the official stop names.

[edit] Additional tips for understanding trips

Check the total trip time, departure and arrival times carefully to make sure that they match what you entered or expected. Planners calculate the trip duration from the start time of the trip, rather than the time you entered. If you entered "10:00 AM" and the trip leaves at 10:15 AM and arrives at 11:00 AM, the trip time will be 45 minutes, not 60 minutes. So if one trip takes longer but starts sooner, it might still get you there sooner.

If you're not very familiar with the route or area, double-check the stop names and locations, and the direction that the trip planner is sending you on each route. The stop name may be different from what you expect (if the stop is placed between streets), or the planner may be sending you in the "wrong" direction to give you a faster trip.

The basic TriMet planner allows you to click on a stop name to get more information, and Google will also provide additional stop information if you click on the bubble labeling the stop, as seen in the popup at right. The Trimet interactive planner doesn't allow this.

On TriMet, stops are always named with the street they're on first, followed by the cross street. So a stop on SE Holgate near SE 28th Ave would be labeled SE Holgate and 28th, while a stop on SE 28th Ave near SE Holgate would be SE 28th and Holgate. This can help you figure out which stop is intended if there's more than one at a particular corner.

Other tips:

• Know where you're headed once you deboard. Where your transfer stops are close together, but not identical, you'll still see a walking distance. More useful in this case than checking the distance is to check the names of the stops so you know where you're arriving and where you're headed.

• Check the projected walking distances and times. Both Google and the basic Trimet planner will provide detailed walking directions and a map, so that you can check whether the suggested route is reasonable. TriMet's interactive planner doesn't supply detailed directions, and only supplies an "as the crow flies" view on the map.

• Watch for service alerts. If there is any red warning text, as seen on the long description of our sample trip on the TriMet planner, it indicates that some stops along the route are closed or moved, or there may be a route detour, delay, or cancellation. Be sure to check whether these warnings apply to a stop you need to board or exit at, or to the time you're planning to make the trip.

• Adjust for your walking speed. The estimated walking speed is just under 3 miles per hour (around 5 minutes to go 1/4 mile, or a little over around 20 minutes for 1 mile).

• Check the direction each route will take you. Sometimes a trip will send you "out of the way" in order to get you a more optimal result based on your preferences, so don't assume you automatically know which direction you should head.

• Be multimodal. If you're flexible about what mode of transportation you're taking, and your trip planner has more than one option for mode (as Google Maps does), check the others to see what the costs and times are. There are certain short trips that can be faster to walk, and it can also be faster to bike if the route is indirect or has a long wait time. Sometimes Google even suggests another option for you.

[edit] Tips for getting the best results

[edit] Start and End Points

• Include more than the minimum address info. The TriMet planner directions recommend not adding the city unless requested, but it's a good idea to add it on Google Maps Transit, just in case. It's also good to include the quadrant information for Portland, so you don't accidentally get the wrong quadrant for an intersection.

• Try nearby intersections instead of the exact address, if you're having trouble.

• Select locations by right-clicking the map. Both Google and TriMet planners allow this.

• Fiddle with the parameters. If you're not getting results that look reasonable, try changing your start or end location to near or at the stop you think you want to use, or try lengthening the walking distance.

• Make sure both addresses are within the trip planner's scope. As of 2011, for example, TriMet can't plan bus trips in Vancouver.

[edit] Transferring

• Think ahead on safety. Check where the system is having you transfer, so that you can be sure you're familiar with the area and can easily get between stops (if needed) and that it's an area where you can feel safe waiting.

• Include a buffer. If a short transfer time is listed, make sure you can get between the suggested stops in the listed time, and check schedules and real-time information (if available) to ensure the transfer is possible. TriMet will not allow you to plan trips with very short transfer times, even if they are technically possible: the minimum time is 4 minutes. It's a good idea to observe the minimum, but sometimes it's possible to get a more optimal trip if you check the times yourself and you get lucky.

• Look at a map of the transfer area if you aren't familiar with it. If you need to change stops, locate a certain bus waiting area, or switch from a train to a bus (or vice versa), this can save you valuable time later.

[edit] Time

• Always check a couple of different departure times if you have a flexible schedule. The trip planner gives you the best routes based on whatever departure (or arrival) time you set, and that may not be the best or even fastest set of options.

• Use "depart after" whenever possible, as it gives you more flexbility. Arrive by gets you as close to that time as possible. It's great when you really need precision, but it limits your options. If the arrival time you get when using Depart After for a future trip is after your target arrival time, you can adjust it after getting a sense of how long the trip is likely to take.

• Show up late. If you need to use arrive by and it's having you leave much sooner than you expected, try setting it to a little later than you really need to be there, to see if you can cut it a bit closer.

• Leave extra time if you walk slower than the trip planner predicts, or feel free to cut it a little closer if you're fast. (Also: know your walking speed.) But...

• ...arrive slightly earlier than you think you need to. Better to wait a few minutes than miss the bus/train (yes, they can be early). Isn't that what smartphones are for? (To entertain you, not to tell you how close to cut it.)

• Trip planners do not yet use real-time arrival information, even if it's available. Check the predicted arrival time to find out if your trip will work as intended. For TriMet, you can use an Arrival app or the agency's Transit Tracker. (The best local trip planning apps, PDX Bus and Portland Transit, have built-in arrival apps.) This can tell you if that bus is really on its way, and whether you can actually make that transfer.

[edit] General tips

• Don't assume you know best. Even if you're a regular user of the system, try not to force the system to give you the answer you think it "should" get. Be open to other options that might make more sense.

[edit] Inter-agency Trips

This only applies to Google Maps, which has multiple agencies in the data. The TriMet planners don't currently use other agencies.

• Be really aware of your fare costs. Inter-agency transfers are rare, so a two-agency trip will almost always be more expensive than a one-agency trip.

• Inter-agency transfers can take longer (because of buying tickets and traveling farther), so check your departure and arrival times and the transfer time. You may need to leave earlier than you had hoped.

• Don't be intimidated. Sometimes an inter-agency transfer makes something possible that wouldn't otherwise be, so it's a great idea to try a multi-agency planner if you need to travel a long way.

[edit] Multimodal Trips

Trimet's Regional Trip Planner (at rtp.trimet.org), which can plan bike/transit trips as well as standard transit trips, walking, and bicycle trips, is still in beta as of November 2011, and is one of the few multi-modal trip planners anywhere in the US. Google Maps can plan each mode alone, but can only combine walking with transit, not bicycling.

Because the Regional Trip Planner is still in beta, its capabilities are constantly changing. Its basic capabilities and its layout are similar to the existing TriMet planner, with the additional ability to plan multi-modal trips.

[edit] Important differences with TriMet's new Regional Trip Planner

• Select your mode under "Travel by" before you plan the trip. The default is to plan an all-TriMet trip.

• For transit trips, the options are similar to the regular trip planner (Quickest trip or Fewest transfers), but you can select a much longer walking distance, up to 100 miles.

• If you select Transit and Bicycle, you can choose any distance for bicycling up to 100 miles. You also have the choice of the quickest trip or safest trip, as well as a custom mix between quickest, flattest, and safest. Transit and bicycling are considered equivalently safe for the purposes of mode preference, but the trip planner does prefer transit slightly overall.

• For bicycling trips as for the combination of transit and bicycle, you can select the quickest trip, the safest trip, or a custom mixture of quickest, flattest, and safest.

The mix of factors to optimize (speed, safety, and elevation) may mean different things for different trips, so if you're not comfortable with the trips you're getting, try adjusting the mix.

Remember that a bus bike rack may be full -- in Portland, they usually hold two bikes each. Unless you have a folding bike, you might get left for the next bus, which will screw up your best-laid plans. You can sometimes bike a bit farther to get on the bus earlier in the route, which might make getting a space more likely, but the trip planner won't help you with this.

It's useful to know something about not just the bus network, but the bike network, and watch out for bugs that might send you onto dangerous streets.

Check the elevation graph that the planner helpfully provides to see where the hills are (and whether transit helps you avoid them – you can check a trip between two points on any mode by just changing the mode selector).

As for the regular trip planner, know if you're faster or slower than the assumed speed. The RTP uses a speed around 11.2mph for bicycling, but adjusts for elevation. (Google Maps uses a speed closer to 10mph.)