Image from Google Transit.

Several people have emailed recently to ask what’s going on with Google Transit and WMATA.

I’ve been in contact with Metro folks who are working on it. They say that negotiations are underway and they are making progress. I can’t share any more information right now.

As far as I can tell, Metro is now trying genuinely to work things out. The other cities that negotiated their contracts, like New York, Chicago and Boston, also spent some time doing that negotiation. Metro restarted negotiations late last year, and that means that unfortunately we have to wait for this delayed process to now run its course.

As I’ve always maintained, the agreement ought to look a lot like Chicago’s, with no indemnification by either side and no payment by either side: basically, “here’s the data, no warranties, do whatever you want” sort of deal. I’ll keep talking to folks on both sides, and if either Google or Metro seem to be unfairly obstinate, we can all pressure that side to be reasonable.

In other Google Transit news, the new Charm City Circulator in Baltimore has a trip planner on its home page which points directly to Google Transit, but as tipster Josh F. points out, the Circulator doesn’t actually appear to be in Google Transit yet. Even choosing a trip that’s fastest by Circulator, it gives MTA bus routes instead. Oops!

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.