Google Escape Bus Hits the Roads in Israel

Published: 
June 7, 2017

Source: Jerusalem Post

 

Catching on to the global Escape Room craze, Google decided to provide Israelis with a mobile version at their doorsteps – asking them to crack codes using five of the firm’s popular apps: Translate, Photos, Maps, Search and Drive. By launching such a challenge, the company aims to show how these apps can collectively help users solve a variety of life problems, a Google spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post at the site on Wednesday.

Parked next to an Ottoman - era rail car on the wooden promenade of Hatachana, Tel Aviv’s new Station complex, a bright white bus equipped with hi-tech riddles opened its doors to Israel’s wannabe sleuths Wednesday morning. Walking around a shaded waiting area lined with green turf, a small group of journalists approached the bus bearing a well-known sans-serif logo to the left of its front door. Preparing to board the vehicle, the visitors received instructions via tablet that they were now part of a rock band whose members had lost their stage-access tags. It was their mission to enter the band’s bus and find new ones.

For the next half hour, and with some hints along the way, the journalists worked to solve a series of puzzles to exit the brand new Google Escape Bus – the company’s first and only such vehicle to hit the roads anywhere.

After a daylong stay at the New Station complex on Wednesday, the Google Escape Bus will head out on Thursday morning for two weeks of travel, stopping in 10 cities around the country.

The Escape Bus, according to Google, is suitable for families with older children, work outings, school friends and adventure enthusiasts of all kinds. Immigrants and tourists should be forewarned, however, that using the phones onboard the bus and decoding many of the riddles requires Hebrew fluency.

Read the entire story at The Jerusalem Post.

Updated: Jun. 14, 2017
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