Anyone else get this? Google maps will always for some reason, give me the wrong information about stops and transfers.
For example, every single time I want to get to Shibuya or shinjuku I use the Shonan shinjuku. My Google app will say.
Get on this train at this time. It goes to this station and inevitably go to a different one and I’ve wasted time.
Example. 7:58 to Takasaki. Google says. From your station to Shibuya. And it lists every stop.
Then it’s not going that way, it’s taking you to Tokyo. Even though all the information is correct.
It’s a waste of time, and it sucks more because the announcement doesn’t tell you what’s AFTER the stopping station, so you gotta wait the fentosecond for you to find it’s going a different way.
29 comments
So you’re getting on the wrong train? (Trains go 2 ways, the platform you’re using should tell you where the trains going, there are signs on every car listing the destination, you’re literally getting on the wrong train)
I tried to use it for biking, never again.
Yes same here it usually recommend the next train time I got used to it enough so I only look at the line name and figure the rest out myself but 90% of the time it gets the time wrong
I’ve been here 8 years, using Google maps the whole time. I’ve not had many issues, and the most important lesson I’ve learned is don’t just get on any train at your platform, be sure you’re getting in the correct train that departs on the time and number platform that’s indicated on maps. Ensure the train destination matches what Google maps says.
It just sounds to me like you’re just getting in whatever train is there. There are multiple lines using the same platforms, some are local, some are express, so you really need to pay attention.
Once you get to the station you should use the station information displays. Google should only be counted on for the existence of the train and maybe a general time table. You need to read the schedule boards and track information to check which train you are getting on.
Never had a problem with Google maps. Sometimes I take a train 2 minutes too early and realize it’s a different line/express/etc that won’t end up at my stop, but it’s on me and google maps had correct info.
Never had a problem with Google maps. If the train is going the other way, then you got on the wrong train. Google maps which platform and to get on which train that’s heading a specific direction
Double check the destination of train is same before boarding. But, I use Y! 乗換案内 app for most accurate info and Google maps for generic directions.
When in doubt ask the train staff.
That’s not the shonan Shinjuku line, because that doesn’t go to Tokyo Station, probably the Yokosuka line or Ueno-Tokyo? They sometimes share platform, and the departures are close to eachother. Sometimes only 1-2 minutes apart
Make sure the train has an orange and green line.
If it’s blue, it’s Yokosuka Line. Light Blue is Kehin-Tohoku Line.
Problem is that Ueno-Tokyo line is same colour as Shonan-Shinjuku, but goes to Tokyo. So make sure it’s not that.
Also Google maps doesn’t have the accurate times in general, and will especially divert on holidays. Use a Japanese app, like Y!乗換案内
Check the sign on the platform, it will say the line and departure time. If a train is delayed, it will also show there, it’s possible you get on to a delayed train. And also the train has a display inside saying all the stops.
I used to take that train all the time to/from Honjo. Occasionally the conductor makes an announcement to avoid the first or last four cars unless you are going to Utsonomiya I think.
I find Jorudan is far more user friendly and easy to understand than google maps for trains.
Google maps is total crap here. It seems to have particular difficulty with same platform (or even same station) changes, such as local to rapid/express services.
It doesn’t seem to be able to grasp the concept of getting off a train, waiting for 2 mins, and getting on a different train going along the same route but missing out stations. As a result, it searches for a faster route that does all kinds of weird line changes to “save” 2-3 minutes when simply changing services would do.
I now use one of the native journey planners. No issues.
had issues with incorrect times and not showing bus routes. plus the gps around stations or busy areas is utter trash but that’s not a google issue
Yeah, it has some pretty big mistakes when it comes to train schedules. I’ve been hours late before when it was wrong about what stopped where (and why more stations don’t have charts about which go where is beyond me).
It’s also really bad about showing the actual fastest option. It will show me a convoluted route with five transfers before a faster, cheaper one with one.
Never had a problem with google. Get the JR East app, it’s better updated with delays etc if you have trouble. Dunno if it has English or not? I just use the Japanese version.
I’ve found Google Maps to be wonky too, and I suspect they’re using out of date schedules.
Just in the last few weeks, it’s given me incorrect bus departure times and incorrect info on a train from Shin-Osaka.
Jorudan is much more reliable (although I still miss Hyperdia:( )
I use yahoo map because it shows better route options and Google maps gives wrong times.
I’ve only ever had one problem with Google Maps here: It wanted me to take one of those super narrow dirt roads through a rice patty, drive up a mountain to behind the place I wanted to go to, get out, and then walk through the forest to arrive behind the building.
There were multiple other quicker, easier ways to get to this destination, and the normal roads in question had been there for decades.
That having been said, Google has feature where you can report this kind of thing, and they fixed it a few weeks after I submitted this route as being strange.
Google Maps is always suggesting bad train routes, but in a different way: usually wacky transfers or impractical hacks that it thinks will save time. For how people would actually travel, I’d use the 乗換案内 app, which recently became available in English I think.
In your specific case, it might be useful to bookmark a list of the different trains (expresses, commuters, etc.) and their respective destinations, or to check the platform for a signboard that shows the same information. I know you feel confident that you’re not making a mistake, but even if somehow it’s the system that’s wrong and you’re right, why keep using Google Maps when you know it’s not accurate?
It sometimes have obvious trouble with schedule when there is trouble occurring in real life, but I’ve never seen anything as bad as the one you described.
I’m not saying you’re wrong, or dismissing the possibility of Google Maps having wrong train data, but it’s pretty unlikely.
Try Jorudan or Yahoo Maps. It’s more up-to-date.
For instance, Jorudan shows a bus route which is not visible in Google maps.
Use yahoo norikae annai app
I’m not sure what you are doing, but I’ve been here for years and years, only using Google maps for trains and driving.
I understand complaining about the driving instructions, sometimes it takes you in a weird way to save supposedly one minute when it would be easier just to stay on the main road.
However I haven’t had any problems with trains living in Tokyo and traveling around Japan. As everyone else is indicating, there must be an issue with yourself. Maybe if you can provide a more specific example, people can help you better. Your example doesn’t make sense
I used to have the same issue with Google maps, but the way I solved it is by filling both the from and to stations instead of current location (even if I’m actually at the station), if i know my trip will have more than one stop, i do the same for each stop (if I’m going from A to B to C, i do that for A-B then B-C.
For 8 months I’ve never got a wrong time, or went in the wrong train
Yea, Google is often slow at updating when there are delays. Last time google made me late was a track with multiple trains, the one I was supposed to get on was scheduled for 4:00, but due to delays the incorrect train was on the same track at 4:00, and google did not reflect this.
It happens sometimes with Google. Use other apps in the future just to be sure.
If you don’t like google maps for train info you can download one of the many japanese commute apps
I don’t know where you live, but looking at the map, if you think you are getting on the Shonan Shinjuku line and ending up going towards Tokyo station, then you must be riding either the Yokosuka Line, the Tokaido line or the Ueno Tokyo line by mistake.
Yokosuka line is blue and white. Shonan Shinjuku has a yellow and green stripe and the Tōkaidō line looks exactly the same, as does the Ueno Tokyo Line, so I imagine you are getting on the Tokaido or Ueno Tokyo line by mistake
Google Maps directions tells you which platform — that helps to be sure that you’re going in the right direction.