Abstract: 

Reducing barriers to information can have significant impacts on changing people's travel behavior. We show that Google's launch of real-time transit information into Google Maps increases public transit ridership. Our findings are based on a panel data set that combines information on public transit utilization with information on Google Maps' staggered arrival into different cities and transit agencies. Ridership is 5% to 6% larger in each month at least 3 years after the roll out of real-time information into Google Maps relative to the three years prior to roll out. City residents reduce car trips and opt for transit during their daily commutes. We see suggestive evidence of improved air quality.