HopStop: City Transit Guide for Bus and Subway Directions
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 05.28.07
TreeHugger is a big fan of utilizing public transportation, whenever and wherever it's feasible. One of the roadblocks to successful public transit is the planning and route-finding element, especially on when you're on the go or without a laptop and wi-fi hotspot. We mentioned Google Transit when it first launched; at the time, it was only available in Portland, OR, and has since expanded to a smattering of other cities in the US (including Seattle, three in southern California, Pittsburgh, PA, Reno, NV, Austin, TX, Duluth, MN, Tampa, FL, Honolulu, HI and Eugene, OR) as well as rail, ferries and domestic air travel in Japan. Conspicuously absent are some of the larger cities in the States, especially on the east coast. Enter HopStop.com, an online transit guide that offers trip planning services for bus or subway in New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. They offer directions, maps, city guides to help you figure out what to do when you get off the train or bus, and an opportunity to rate your trip for timeliness, safety, cleanliness and comfort. To help with planning on the go, in addition to their traditional online service, HopStop also offers two forms of mobile service for those without computer or PDA access; either send them a text message of where you want to go, or call them up and say the address, and they'll send directions back to your phone (note that the call service option only works in Manhattan). Between HopStop and Google Transit, it's easier than ever (and getting ever easier) to get help and get around via public transportation. The more, the merrier! ::HopStop via ::Gristmill and more at ::How to Green Your Public Transportation
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Even more useful, since it includes *hundreds* of public transit systems worldwide, is a nifty system call Métro:
http://metro.nanika.net/index-en.html
They have software versions for Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian, as well as a mobile-web version call i-Métro.
They update the routes any time there are changes to the networks and continually make updates to the software. Best of all, it's FREE! I've used it with tremendous success for navigating transit in DC, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Beijing, Taipei, Sao Paulo, Paris, London, and a few other smaller cities.
Métro lacks the SMS option that HopStop has, but they more than make up for it in the sheer breadth of city options.
NYC already has this the MTA has a route map for the subway and bus so this is nothing new.. its called Trip Planer
http://travel.mtanyct.info/
Adding a vote for Metro software. I've used it in Amsterdam, Rome, and NYC -- recommended. The interface is a little clunky but the information's quite clear and up-to-date.