Metra and Google have partnered to bring us a trip planner that allows residents to plan trips involving Metra's commuter trains now, a great tool for those of us who aren't too familiar with what train to take to which suburb. While the planner incorporates CTA buses and trains, its drawback is the absence of Pace information. It offers the same info as the RTA's trip planner, but with the world going Google crazy, Metra is happy to get the plug at no cost. more ›

We use the CTA Trip Planner any time we don't know the best way to get around in the city, so we're the first to say that we're happy it exists. The only thing that's always bugged us about it, though, is when you know you're relatively close to a train and all you get is bus routes. You look out the window into a dreary/snowy/winter mixed/rainy/cold day and sigh. Sometimes you'd just rather walk... more ›

Daily Candy pointed us to Hopstop.com's new Chicago site today, and the prospect of a new online system to plan our public transportation routes had us very excited indeed. Sure, the CTA’s Trip Planner has helped us find our way on occasion, but we don’t always get the most direct route and we often fare better by analyzing the system map ourselves. more ›