Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 91 posts

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#81

Post by smenjas »

malyk wrote: post #77
jarek wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no universally accepted API for the real-time data unlike the GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) for theoretical schedules. You can approach some commonality with Nextbus API/scraping ( http://www.nextbus.com/predictor/agencySelector.jsp ) but not every agency offering real-time data uses it. So iCommuteSF might very well be doable, but you can't use that everywhere like you can Google Maps with GTFS.

I didn't mean to imply you could do it everywhere. I was specifically replying to the part about "MUNI" in the parent comment. The geo data for current MUNI positions is public data. So if you are making an SFMUNI specific app, there's no excuse not to use it. Also, I didn't realize that embark also does routing, which is more than iCommuteSF and Routesy do.

Yes, however Muni's own signs at the stops often make inaccurate predictions. As an occasional Muni rider, I've often waited for a bus or a train only to find that it's not in service. There are also frequent "ghost buses", where the minutes count down to zero but no bus shows up.

In other words, although I'm certain the transit apps could stand to improve, I don't think even Muni has accurate data.

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#82

Post by barista »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #71
kelnos wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's Apple. In the eyes of the faithful, they can't release a bad product. As much as we may make fun of "fanbois", it's incredible the amount of loyalty, trust, and goodwill Apple has managed to generate for themselves.

Well, there's that, and there's also the fact that it's historically been a good bet with the iPhone to order each new model sight-unseen. That's been the case going back to the very first one. Not every new iPhone or iOS version was a win in every respect over its predecessor, but this is the first time Apple has royally hosed its customers.

if you forget about the antenna gate

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#83

Post by CamperBob2 »

barista wrote: post #82
CamperBob2 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there's that, and there's also the fact that it's historically been a good bet with the iPhone to order each new model sight-unseen. That's been the case going back to the very first one. Not every new iPhone or iOS version was a win in every respect over its predecessor, but this is the first time Apple has royally hosed its customers.

if you forget about the antenna gate

Antennagate was mostly a made-up thing, though. It served certain peoples' interests to turn it into a bigger deal than it was.

Maps is a huge part of the reason why I bought an iPhone in the first place. I would literally rather give up the ability to use it as a telephone than give up the ability to use it for navigation.

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#84

Post by bmeckel »

tmalloy wrote: post #27

Co-Founder of Embark here (letsembark.com). We have apps for 12 systems, mostly in the US (BART, Caltrain, NYC, LIRR, MNR, NJT, DC Metro, Philly, CTA, Metra, Boston & London Tube). We also integrate with iOS 6 maps, so our apps should show up for you if they're relevant. In my subjective opinion, it's a way better experience than a google maps web view. EDIT: Looks like my co-founder David beat me to the punch

Having had the beta for so long I hadn't actually expected integration with maps, I figured it'd just tell you that there were other apps available. I'll definitely be moving to embark for the time being!

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#85

Post by bmeckel »

Void_ wrote: post #72
stcredzero wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone should start a "iDevBuddy" site, where people can pay a dev for use of her/his unused provisioning slots and install their own software.

I'm pretty sure Apple would consider that a violation of their rules.

Didn't stop people from doing the same general thing in regards to the iOS beta.

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#86

Post by pserwylo »

mtgx wrote: post #44
w1ntermute wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's little consolation to people who've bought the iPhone 5.

I've never understood why people like to pre-order something before even one review on it is released, or before they get a chance to see it for themselves.

Although not an Apple fan, I can relate to their purchasing behaviour through an analogy of my own:

I am a massive Pixar fan. I think almost everything they touch turns to gold and I haven't seen a Pixar movie that I dont' like (to be fair, the last new release I saw was Toy Story 3). When I saw the ad for WALL-E, I thought it sounded like a stupid idea for a movie, but I still forked out the $10 to go see it at the cinema. This decision was purely on their past record, nothing to do with my perception of WALL-E. Sure enough, I loved it.

Perhaps this is a similar way Apple fans make decisions.

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#87

Post by fpgeek »

MartinCron wrote: post #74
mtodd wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple won't be fixing this. Their approach is to recommend transit apps depending on your location instead.

Which doesn't have to be a terrible idea. Explicitly encouraging transit app competition is great. Now if only you could change the default handler for addresses to route to other mapping/direction programs. Once we get that, this teapot tempest will die out.

It is almost certainly a terrible idea for Apple.

Carriers already push iPhone alternatives for all sorts of reasons. It doesn't matter how good the third-party transit apps are. Not having transit routing built in is an "instant demo" for any carrier sales rep trying to push an Android or Windows Phone. And, last I heard, Apple sells far more iPhones through carriers that they sell directly...

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#88

Post by fpgeek »

pserwylo wrote: post #86
mtgx wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never understood why people like to pre-order something before even one review on it is released, or before they get a chance to see it for themselves.

Although not an Apple fan, I can relate to their purchasing behaviour through an analogy of my own: I am a massive Pixar fan. I think almost everything they touch turns to gold and I haven't seen a Pixar movie that I dont' like (to be fair, the last new release I saw was Toy Story 3). When I saw the ad for WALL-E, I thought it sounded like a stupid idea for a movie, but I still forked out the $10 to go see it at the…

So iOS 6 maps are Apple's equivalent of Cars 2?

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#89

Post by gedaxiang »

jsanz wrote: post #58

Guys, I'm from HopStop. Our app has got you covered for your public transit needs. We support lots of cities in the USA, Canada and some in Europe. We also have some nice features other than transit directions, such as schedules and transit maps. Check us out! Note: Maps integration coming soon for our iPhone app. Our iPad app is already working fine with Maps.

Make a paid version so I can get rid of the ads!

Re: Don't like iOS6's (lack of) transit directions? You need this.

#90

Post by Spooky23 »

davidwhodge wrote: post #39
vegashacker wrote: post #34

Somewhat off-topic, but does anyone in SF who rides public transportation agree that Google's Map directions in terms of time predictions don't work? Like they're almost always completely wrong. I wonder if they use scheduled bus times instead of actual ones. Anyway, I was hoping to be able to plug in something like Routesy to iOS 6 maps, and then I'd be a happy camper.

We've found that Google has historically had a very hard time in San Francisco, and many other big cities for that matter. The results often seem reasonable at first, but end up being impractical in practice. We've found that getting good routing results in cities like SF requires a lot of attention to detail in each particular city. Google has very smart people, but they can't focus everywhere at once. Disclaimer, I…

Most transit companies don't have a real time feed. The key piece of information is how often the bus runs anyway!
Post reply on HN