How crowded will the train or bus be today? Google Maps will now tell you

Using public transit is great for a few reasons, most notably how much cheaper it is than driving or hailing a cab, but also because of its better effect on the environment. That being said, the team behind Google Maps knows that crowded or delayed public transport can make you wish you took that cab instead.

That’s why Google is rolling out two new features today to help out public commuters.

The first new update relates to late buses. Although Maps already offers real-time delay information for bus routes in certain places around the world, the feature is rolling out today to areas of the world that haven’t enjoyed this perk yet.

Not only will this help you determine how long you’ll need to wait at a stop before your bus arrives, but it will also help you plan ahead if the bus you get on will be late to your drop-off location.

The second new Google Maps update will let you know how crowded your bus or train is likely to be. When you check your navigation route in the app, it will let you know its estimation of the crowdedness of that ride:

Google crowdsources this information from other riders, so it should be fairly accurate.

The crowdedness information is rolling out today to nearly 200 cities around the world via the Google Maps app for Android or iOS. If you’re not already using Google Maps, install it on your Android smartphone by clicking the link below: