Google Maps will show you how crowded your train is

Google announced several new features for Google Maps on Wednesday.

It extends a feature that shows you how congested a transit line is to 10,000 cities in 100 countries. But it’s also testing something even more granular: the ability to see which cars on a specific train are most congested on New York’s Long Island Railroad and for transit lines in Sydney, Australia.

Both features can help you avoid more people if you’re worried about being stuck with many other commuters when returning to work during the pandemic.

The information will appear when you search for your route. If, for example, you search for trains from New York Penn Station to Long Island on the Long Island Railroad, you’ll see data on a train’s ridership and which cars have the most seats available. If it’s on a railroad that doesn’t yet offer the more granular data, you’ll still see whether the train is crowded or not. The feature is being rolled out for Google Maps users, so you might not see it quite yet.

In the event that your workplace is flexible about commuting times, Google has said that nationally you’re more likely to get a seat if you travel at 9 a.m. rather than 7 a.m. and 8 hours. between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Google said the data is provided by Long Island Rail Road in New York and Transport for New South Wales in Sydney. Other cities will support the open seat function in the future, Google said.