Yesterday, as I was looking for information about Zevia, I went to their website, and asked where I could buy it locally. The closest store, I was told, is 5.76 miles away. I was unaware of the location, so I went to Google and asked for directions. As I plugged in the necessary information, I was astonished to see a new option I had never seen before on Google Maps: "By car."
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83_k6F76P_dc4H5-vKZDwzZ5rmIU2RXOMLVhLy5kfEjVjpwW5y-v80913QFVoVWgv-SvOBANamDNNINf31rev2uWY5MKAO-5zJsVEXsKc0-Mn-hIoDP8NfyDIe8FKv-xqJLos2A/s200/ByCar.png)
"What's this?" I thought. "What other options do they offer me?"
Amazing! One of the options is "Public transportation."
What are the differences between the two maps?
Well, here is the first map:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsn9FS4Y95Ei4hO8Gg8rakrB3ImJ0z2G1ZNTpSrFSC05ttOrlIABbS8nvmY5ux4MZOzpccwPYDBIHAMD4X3OujumbbPu1VMc2z_zlJdKLFiteNc8bJRbGDxAwNDwNvKfTiCQ7U8g/s200/Map1.png)
And here is the "Public transportation" map:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrWl5_6opGYuznl3tNEGyLGWCv1Ll-8XXcwPvl0FAHfY4nJ38AyrrkVvoX2JUA4e1F3v2L0IEa1kvVYNa8SU0TPaYDrNqk89qgXfUWIof6vUkV_kxaw8WX4kZsq2yD513CpHt7w/s200/Map2.png)
Okay. Beyond the map itself, what other information do they give me?
Oh! This is interesting!
"Suggested trips with upcoming departures." And then detailed instructions.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVt1wxa0SgqS3pTw3-2F4LlGqWqenOuBl-YzfOB72gcPAqyTnbyE4_Yx7s27KaNOGXLISKvxKry0CgUuGr83tmSVjMB9D72o2D7vExIgwV1kHk3lHbPgsaA6h4RqJuX09twE5I2g/s200/Map2Details.png)
Click on one of the symbols . . .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJuK8EqXqCvrShi58kAYy4J1sVf3QkO4kBHLGB3T5zrqldJWBGhab_T9Ntr4s-MaJgUXu0EP34BGiT0yFAaKtV4ZscbH6OGRl0pbCOPxingNqFATfiKH-zt8mJzMmGNA6gTWkiGA/s200/MapSymbol.png)
. . . and find the same kind of information as is in the left-hand column.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvYiKcWH6oXwA5JjxtdCopBz8dfBJoRb6eZetylLBQ5-lQGQGQ3StoyGsEUuhzqIc673mw6lZagKr3IsNrj3zkHaPPfZvZ0iNgWiqYO8f55I_H-OPE6KVftNO5Q2MT-q1pp-Mlg/s200/Map2a.png)
But what other alternatives do they offer?
"Walking"? What will that show?
Well, I get the map . . .
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP8VwW1EeOHm132Ar-4_kFxrOyqhUQQGhAfDXvOD6sTrlsa46qg0HTYhd81nOoKNvfrXEE9EVVXy6VPg4GnmOXDinCH6n28YvIRkpCdqKIs_an5T9LqfLvYqZcf2tPgzvPop3IWw/s200/Map3.png)
. . . and I get all the detailed directions:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUevIhEiI158qj1YOI5VY-fqOQTbhUFFHn_G-Vihn880vkoKGSBhdTQ7QmMpBpTNEAPFKZXElgW1xxv4etXqUz8bKlF9fmt02vNbZ3SuocPs4tTIsatf9RABX-3_-BJApZEwOPnw/s200/Map3Directions.png)
And then something jumps out at me: the time.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lov-3TjW-_7e01GmsYPjFfbiJ41Uec7SSqGXwboMnWP54ajrPM1Ra_WSFjUJsQdWriEpStDyi6vc4fQZyGrKxuLDRaD6ic7OdEQlnZdrQXRV4V1bAvMAegxjClhvJ5HjoWBewg/s200/Map3Time.png)
Walking: three hours and 19 minutes. Wow!
How long would public transportation take?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5r0EW4pe_nFrq5Hjhek158JQVvWdARLj05kTnR8XGOGLdCCRUJKbjbToCNpMtQhAqfB5uDPtAV4uko58MaFSBIUwkbnB-V1sm4BuZAUICxs-q2iY192CQnJmSZL53Yw3cJ6AjLw/s200/Map2Time.png)
Somewhere between about an hour and 15 minutes and an hour and 45 minutes.
And by car?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4aGCp_dXdNzDhA4UcJh4aKtT5c-Kgv-jMf2HnQb5WGH4-OAidjv_jeaKsa3fZXrNdymWN5GGEdIH_3cns0UNKN2MCbhMSVwSpSmf8-l5yF-Glfx3MLsQqRLtIhWt0_46B37wFg/s200/Map1Time.png)
About 15 minutes!
And people wonder why we prefer our private cars to public transportation . . . or walking? How much is your time worth?