A Review of GoThere.sg, The Streetdirectory.com Slayer!
I am very bad with directions and have trouble remembering how to get from point A to B even if I might have traveled the same route before. Streetdirectory.com was my savior back then and even so, I have been hating the cluttered layout and lack of support for SMRT buses in their route planning for public transport. But compared to the other local map directories, streetdirectory.com was the best.
Streetdirectory.com was sued by Singapore Land Authority (SLA) last year over the usage of their maps and it took very long bring back the maps to the needy locals like me and probably lost quite a large number of following in the period of time. I do have to highlight that the facebook group has quite an impressive following of 5K+ members.
But thanks to the e27 conference that I’ve attended in July, I got to know about a local startup by 3 young men called GoThere.sg. There were many interesting web startups that thay but GoThere.sg was definitely the highlight for me. After using it for months and months, I reaffirm that it is everything that streetdirectory.com should be and MORE.
Clean Interface
Messy Streetdirectory.com
VS
Neat Gothere.sg
Compared to the clutter of Streetdirectory.com, Gothere.sg is a great relief to the eyes. There have just undergone a face-lift and it looks aestheically pleasing while retaining the clutter-free interface.
Leveraging on a Great Product
(Click to Enlarge)
Gothere.sg’s maps are based on the already wonderful product that is of Google Maps. If you guys have ever used Google Maps before, I am sure you’ll marvel at the speed and the ease of navigation. What Gothere.sg did was to add overlays of local information like block numbers, building names, bus stop locations coupled with bus services and even ERP gantry locations. This made a great product even better and relevant to the locals.
Excellent Public Transport Guide
(Click to Enlarge)
This has to be the most important for me and people who do not own a car. Choose where you are going from and where you are off to and Gothere.sg will tell you how to drive there or how to travel to the destination via public transport with two options, ‘Bus only’ OR ‘Bus and Train’. Gothere.sg plans your route with train and bus information from both SBS AND SMRT.
Other Great Features
(Click to Enlarge)
(Click to Enlarge)
(Click to Enlarge)
Clicking icons on the maps like Parking, ERP and Bus Stops gives you information like parking fees, ERP car rates, bus services and timings (for SBS via IRIS).
Gothere.sg allows the embedding of their map to help you share the route/information you found on a website.
Gothere.sg is still an infant compared to Streetdirectory.com but has already surpassed their predessesor in so many aspects. I do hope that the guys at Gothere.sg can find ways to monetize the site while keeping the clutter to a minimum like the way it is now. One can only hope for more improvements and have it grow and not die off like many web startups we have all seen that died prematurely.
Trust me on this one. Forget about Streetdirectory.com. GoThere.sg is the answer! Spread the word!
Related posts:
September 6th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Before they change their interface I found it quite unpleasant cause everything look very lok cock. but after the overhaul, not bad I must say. Although they still need some work!
I tried to find ‘Royal Plaza on Scotts’, but there wasn’t any results.
SD did though. hohoho
chaosdingos last blog post..wohohoho
September 6th, 2008 at 3:53 am
I <3 Gothere.sg too!
Waffles last blog post..Graduated!
September 6th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
streetdirectory is already back online
September 11th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
also, i’ve been using http://sg.shownearby.com, they have better and faster results as compared to gothere.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
chaosdingo> The interface is secondary! Most important is the quality of the site. You can always feed back to them tt you cannot find tt building. =P
Waffle> I am glad you do!
jamie> Yep! It is! But gothere is still much better! And I was just introduced to shownearby. I will check it out. thanks!
September 17th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Thanks for the link! You’re right in that streetdirectory’s such a mess. Useful, but having to go through so much trash to get to the treasure was a weary experience. I’ll be sure to convert to gothere.sg from now onwards. Thanks for sharing!
September 24th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Vynara> You are welcome dude! =)
October 7th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
[...] in their lives. I am one such blogger and one of my posts can be about an amazing new website that gets you from point A to point B or about making fun of perverts on mIRC and the next can be about how much I love to fart in my [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Hi you can try StreetDB.com as an alternative. It has some cool features like ERP and bus-stop information that you can view with a mouseover….
Website is http://www.streetdb.com
November 17th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Faith> Thanks for the suggestion. I went over and tried it but it is so messy compared to gothere.sg.
April 9th, 2009 at 9:06 am
[...] my review on gothere.sg sometime back? The awesome street guide for Singapore is now giving away an iPhone 3G [...]
April 27th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
[...] Krisandro – A Review of GoThere.sg, The Streetdirectory.com Slayer! [...]
January 6th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
You sound like you’re paid by gothere.com to say this.
August 25th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
We have something similar in the San Francisco Bay Area called 511.org
It is not a pretty as this service, but the estimated travel time of various travel modes is invaluable.
Joseph recently posted..Sage & Chocolate Grand Park Comforter Set