We’ve all hopefully been enjoying (or slightly creeped out by) the current offering of helpful cardsGoogle Now gives us, from updates about our favorite sports teams, to notifications about the shipping status of our latest Amazon orders, and Google has upped the ante a bit and added train, bus, and flight cards that offer a bit more than just information about schedules.
The last thing a person wants in today’s work world full of busy schedules and distractions galore, is to get wrapped up and forget to leave on time for their scheduled pickup time at the train or bus station. Not only is it inconvenient, it is also stressful, and could endanger one’s work prospects, for example, if they were late to a current job or on their way to a new job interview. So, with the new travel cards for buses and trains an intrepid traveler can be reminded of their upcoming transportation rendezvous.
One might have already had some experience with the flight cards already in Google Now that search your email for possible itineraries and keep you apprised of when you need to leave to make it to your upcoming flight engagements on time, as well as letting you know of any delays there may be with your flight, which is great if you do happen to be running a little late. Knowing your flight is delayed can help take some of the stress out of the ride to the airport. Well, now there’s more. Not only are travelers reminded of upcoming departures, current delays, or cancellations with trains, buses, and airplanes, but an added feature with this Google Now update is the ability to suggest alternate methods of reaching your destination in the event of a flight cancellation or delay.
If the alternate flight suggestion works well, the amount of anxiety it could reduce would be undeniably large. Imagine being offered a range of choices with other airlines that could meet one’s requirements without needed to go through the hassle of fumbling through an airline’s mobile website or calling multiple airlines only to be told by many that there are no available flights. It seems pretty astounding to one who has traveled a bit and experienced missed connections, rude airline employees, and uncomfortable airport sleeping accommodations (the floor, in at least one case).