Sun Direction guide

Which side of the bus or train gets less sun?

Sun Direction compares sunlight on the left and right sides of your journey using your route and departure time. Left and right always mean facing the front of the vehicle.

1. Choose bus or train, then enter your starting point and destination.
2. Set the departure date and time in the timezone shown in the header.
3. Select “Find my shady side” to see your recommended seat.
4. Move “Position along journey” to explore the sun’s bearing and elevation along the route.

What does the recommendation include?

It estimates direct sunlight as the route changes direction. At night or when exposure is similar, either side may be suitable. Available cloud and rain forecasts can adjust the recommendation.

Is shade guaranteed?

No. Buildings, trees, window tint, seat availability, and changing weather can affect your journey. The sun compass illustrates angles, not the sun’s distance. If bus schedules are unavailable, any estimated road route is clearly labeled.

Browser-agent reference

The planner is a browser application, not a public route API. Google Maps must load before place search and route calculations are available.

Use the accessible controls

1. Dismiss the optional interactive guide with “Skip guide” or Escape, or follow it using the highlighted controls.
2. In the “Plan a journey” form, select “Bus” or “Train”. The selected button has aria-pressed=true.
3. Fill the place controls named “Your starting point” and “Where are you headed?”. Select a place suggestion when offered.
4. Use “Journey timezone” and the date-time input labeled “Leaving at”.
5. Press “Find my shady side”. Wait for the “Seat recommendation” region or an inline alert. Read the result as text; map images are not required.
6. Use the “Position along journey” slider and “Sunlight along the journey” region to read the time, elevation, bearing, and side receiving sunlight.
7. “Edit journey” returns to the form. “Share this journey” copies the current route link when clipboard access is available.

Shareable route links

The home page accepts origin and dest as addresses or latitude,longitude pairs, mode as BUS or TRAIN, time as a Unix timestamp in milliseconds, and tz as an IANA timezone. Encode query values. Opening a complete origin/destination link automatically requests a route.

Ask the user for missing journey details. Do not treat an unavailable route or loading screen as a successful recommendation. The app does not book tickets.