The Bottom Line
Hopstop is a great tool if you live in one of the supported cities, or if you are planning a trip to one of them. Not only can you get mass transit directions, but also a quick list of bars, restaurants, shopping and other attractions near your destination.
- Get directions tailored to using mass transit.
- Ability to click on map to choose locations
- Send directions to your cell phone
- Sometimes fails to come up with directions even when it should
Description
- Travel instructions for those that prefer to travel by subway or bus
- Supports directions for New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington DC. Also in beta for additional cities
- Shows 360-degree photo of subway exits so you know you have arrived at the right spot
Guide Review - A Review of Hopstop
Hopstop is a great website for finding directions for those that don't drive everywhere they go. The Hopstop site uses Yahoo maps and area transit maps to find directions by subway, bus or walking. It currently supports New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington DC. They also have beta versions for Metro North Area, Long Island, and New Jersey.
One very neat feature of Hopstop is the ability to get directions by either typing in the address of your current location and your destination, or bringing up the map and just clicking on where you are and where you want to go. This is pretty handy for those of us that don't always know exactly where we are or where we want to be.
The site supports the ability to choose only bus routes, only subway routes, or both. You can also choose whether you want to do more walking and less transfers, or less walking and more transfers. This is nice if you are visiting the city and want to see a little more of it by doing some walking.
Another nice feature is the ability to see nearby attractions, bars, hotels, restaurants and shopping at your destination. This really makes planning out your day a lot easier. Even for those of us that don't like to do too much planning, it is nice to have a quick list of what's around the area.
Hopstop also gives a 360-degree photo of the subway exit, so you'll recognize if you are in the right spot. And, for those without easy access to a printer, you can also send the directions to your phone.
In fact, the only negative I've had when using the site is that, occasionally, it will fail to come up with directions even when it should. Going back to the map and clicking on the locations again tends to fix this.
