Google Ride Finder - Useful?

Apr 5, 2005 - 4:20 pm 1 by
Filed Under Misc Google

The other day Google Labs came out with Google Ride Finder. It's pretty cool, Google is going nuts at this time on local search ideas. Google Maps, Google Satellite Maps, Google Local, Google Ride Finder and so much more. This tool actually plots down the real time location of vehicle's within the Google database. My first thoughts were..."Yea, let me check NYC, I bet it is covered with little dots." The dots represent the current location of a specific vehicle. But since SuperShuttle is the only taxi service currently participating in the program, NYC is pretty clean. A place like Washington, DC has three fleet operators.

So when can this become useful? Let's say 50% of the taxi services are signed up in NYC. Well, what is the point? There are about 5 taxis on every NYC corner. It would be a mess. And if you don't plot at least 50% of them, then what are you missing out on? I can see it being useful for small towns or for specific fleets to monitor their vehicles. But for the average person in a large city where taxis are used by everyone???

If you happen to be a taxi service and want to be included, contact google. For more information on how it works, see the Google Ride Finder Help section. GPS is cool, but where should it be used?

Forum discussion at Digitial Point Forums.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: Order Of Disavow Link File Does Not Matter

Jul 9, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Be Careful With Google When Publishing AI Content

Jul 9, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Defends Hidden Search Terms As Solely Privacy Driven

Jul 9, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

New Google Search Console Discussion Forum Search Appearance Filter

Jul 9, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Generating Fewer Clicks? Why?

Jul 9, 2025 - 7:11 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 8, 2025

Jul 8, 2025 - 10:00 am
Previous Story: Bookmark Data for Ranking Purposes