Apple adds Boston and Sydney Transit data to Apple Maps

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2015
After transit directions made their debut in iOS 9 last month, work continues toward building out support for the new Apple Maps feature, the latest additions being information for areas in Boston, Mass. and Sydney, Australia.




Apple quietly announced the two additions through its iOS 9 Feature Availability webpage on Monday, which now shows a total of 13 Transit-ready locales.

With Transit, Apple Maps in iOS 9 offers routes, departure times and other relevant data for buses, trains, ferries and other forms of public transportation. The solution is akin to competitor Google Maps, which has for years provided users with transit routing tools.

In addition to local schedules, Transit in Apple Maps gives users a top-down view of underground subway and train stations, a feature unique to Apple's service. Armed with track and time information, commuters can more efficiently plan their routes without getting lost. Further, data is customized for each location, meaning road signs are as they appear in real life.

Apple's Transit feature is made possible by technology gained through key acquisitions like HopStop and Embark, powered by a multitude of data sources specific to each supported location.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    I hope this is true as I'm traveling to Boston next month, but so far I tried doing a few transit searches and it just said it wasn't available.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member

    Sydney?

     

    But...but...but...that's in Australia!

     

    Next thing you know we'll be getting Apple Pay and the Apple News app...

  • Reply 3 of 17
    friedmudfriedmud Posts: 165member
    Not working in Boston yet... hopefully soon!!
  • Reply 4 of 17
    friedmudfriedmud Posts: 165member
    Well. I updated to 9.0.2 and I'm at least seeing stations in Boston... but Transit directions are coming up with nothing.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    Call me when they get bike directions...

  • Reply 6 of 17
    At this rate it'll take 20 years for mid-tier cities to see anything wrt transit.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    Where is the transit updates for Los Angeles in Apple Maps! I love that Boston and Australia have been added. But how about the cities you announced would get the transit maps info you have denied for us 3 years. 3D force touch rules but 3 years is too long to for transit mapping.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post



    At this rate it'll take 20 years for mid-tier cities to see anything wrt transit.

     

    It might not just be about city size but about what APIs the city provides.

     

    e.g. Sydney has JSON APIs offering timetables and live information:

    http://www.transportnsw.info/en/about/transport-data-program.page

  • Reply 9 of 17
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GTR View Post

     

    Sydney?

     

    But...but...but...that's in Australia!

     

    Next thing you know we'll be getting Apple Pay and the Apple News app...




    Sydney born and bred, I never get lost here, haven't used public transport much since getting a car and licence, I hear they now have a thing called an Opal card, which is like a drivers licence for poor people.

  • Reply 10 of 17
    onhkaonhka Posts: 1,025member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post



    At this rate it'll take 20 years for mid-tier cities to see anything wrt transit.



    I am sorry, but I don't know of any software, plug-in, or routine code that can simply translate anothers' transit application and make it universal. 

     

    Quote:


     As posted: Apple's Transit feature is made possible by technology gained through key acquisitions like HopStop and Embark, powered by a multitude of data sources specific to each supported location.


     

    Obviously, not only a lot of money, time and more importantly, but a lot of programmers/technicians/engineers/translators are needed in the process.

     

    And I don't know about your home town, but in our fair metropolis, they are constantly upgrading, updating and changing transit schedules. And the only way I know that guarantees everything is on a somewhat schedule is when you see a bus's, streetcar's, train's and subway car's oncoming headlights

  • Reply 11 of 17
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post



    At this rate it'll take 20 years for mid-tier cities to see anything wrt transit.

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by popmusik669 View Post



    Where is the transit updates for Los Angeles in Apple Maps! I love that Boston and Australia have been added. But how about the cities you announced would get the transit maps info you have denied for us 3 years. 

     

    The entitlement in these posts is mind-blowing. We LITERALLY got transit in Apple Maps last week, and new cities are already being added. It takes a fuckload of work to integrate every city's transit system and carefully map the stations (which Google doesn't do). No doubt they're working on a dozen cities at the same time, and we will see continual releases. Meanwhile, nothing has been "denied". It's not like Apple has been sitting on this for years and decided not to release. It was not a feature in Apple's maps, but there's always been dozens of other options, including Google Maps, which Google has no doubt poured millions of hours into over the course of more than a decade. But somehow, people like you guys think Apple just needs to push a button to do the same thing. 

  • Reply 12 of 17
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member

    The New York city transit data works great. On some platforms that have the signs less necessary once you're down there but for up on the street it's awesome, plus a great reminder of which lines run from which station., always a puzzle for me in the city. Philadelphia's a little thin but they've got a much less involved train system.

  • Reply 13 of 17
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    hill60 wrote: »

    Sydney born and bred, I never get lost here, haven't used public transport much since getting a car and licence, I hear they now have a thing called an Opal card, which is like a drivers licence for poor people.
    You drive in Sydney? Why? Do you live in one of those unfortunate suburbs not on the rail network, or do you just enjoy looking at the backs of other cars? How do you afford parking?
  • Reply 14 of 17
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Anome View Post





    You drive in Sydney? Why? Do you live in one of those unfortunate suburbs not on the rail network, or do you just enjoy looking at the backs of other cars? How do you afford parking?



    I have my secret spots.

     

    Don't go to the city much, live on the edge.

  • Reply 15 of 17
    It appears that Boston transit Maps are more vaporware than a reality. It's strange that this be the case when Boston once hosted the Apple "Big Event".
  • Reply 16 of 17
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Slurpy View Post

     

    The entitlement in these posts is mind-blowing. We LITERALLY got transit in Apple Maps last week, and new cities are already being added. It takes a fuckload of work to integrate every city's transit system and carefully map the stations (which Google doesn't do). No doubt they're working on a dozen cities at the same time, and we will see continual releases. Meanwhile, nothing has been "denied". It's not like Apple has been sitting on this for years and decided not to release. It was not a feature in Apple's maps, but there's always been dozens of other options, including Google Maps, which Google has no doubt poured millions of hours into over the course of more than a decade. But somehow, people like you guys think Apple just needs to push a button to do the same thing. 


     

    Bullshit.  If Apple is going to replace other map apps with their own (a move I support, BTW) then they can damned well get up to speed and offer feature parity with those other map apps.  Stop treating Apple Maps like a side project or hobby, and deploy whatever resources it takes to get this right.  Nobody said it was going to be easy.  If that means millions of hours over the course of a decade, then get a project plan in place so a staffing plan can be deployed and get busy.  

  • Reply 17 of 17
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by HowieG View Post



    It appears that Boston transit Maps are more vaporware than a reality. It's strange that this be the case when Boston once hosted the Apple "Big Event".



    How's the Boiston infrastructure for tracking trains etc? I've noticed than in cities with good information structure, NYC say, the Apple Map transit function has a lot of utility "An A train is 4 minutes out from the station, a C is 10 minutes...". I was there this weekend and it was an awesome help in navigating the weekend repair work schedule disruptions as those were all explained in detail.

     

    Hmm, looks like the data is there: http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/apps/

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