Skip to main content

Apple readies Transit subway, train + bus guides for iOS 9 Maps, deploys robots for indoor mapping

Maps Transit

Having originally planned to add a new transit directions feature to Maps last year, only to pull the feature before WWDC 2014, Apple now hopes to launch its Transit service with iOS 9, according to sources. Apple currently plans to debut bus, subway, and train route navigation as the central upgrade to the Maps app in iOS 9 at WWDC, using a user interface similar to the one intended for last fall’s launch, as depicted in the screenshots above…

The Transit directions service would allow iPhone users to navigate mass transit via the official Apple Maps application for the first time since Apple removed Google as iOS’s official provider of map data. Sources said last year that the transit functionality for Maps includes larger icons for users to more quickly spot airports, subway stations, and train stations within the Maps app. In addition to the main functionality, there is also a trip planning feature for transit, and a new Transit view alongside the existing Standard, Hybrid, and Satellite/Flyover views.

Due to personnel issues, data inconsistencies, and coverage for only a small subset of Apple’s major markets, Apple decided to pull transit functionality from iOS 8 very late into development, sources indicate. The feature was apparently present in internal iOS 8 betas well into the summer of 2014, despite the lack of an announcement at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Since that time, however, Apple has refined the data, added new cities, and developed a new push notifications system that will notify users as new cities gain support.

In addition to refining its transit mapping service, Apple has also been making headway on its indoor mapping project. Apple intends to update iOS Maps to help users navigate major buildings, offices, and landmarks. While the feature may not go live this year, sources tell us that Apple is already mapping out its own offices in Cupertino. The company has let loose autonomous robots with iBeacon sensors, similar in size to iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaners, to collect data for its indoor mapping project. This comes in addition to its new van-based project to map out high-resolution street view footage.

Yesterday, we reported that iOS 9 will also include the new San Francisco font from the Apple Watch and potentially a new Home app to control HomeKit devices.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. chrisl84 - 9 years ago

    Indoor navigation is so hard, I can’t wait to hear Siri on 50 iPhones in every shopping mall “In 5 feet turn left at the Jamba Juice”

    • incredibilistic - 9 years ago

      Now that the Apple Watch is here I believe that iBeacons and the Apple Watch are Apple’s trojan horse into special marketing and advertisements, especially once they’ve mapped all the major malls in each city.

      Imagine walking by that Jamba Juice and getting a tap on your wrist that brings up a special QR or barcode for 10% off or a buy1-get1 deal. It starts with Jamba then moves onto H&M, Paradise Bakery, American Eagle, Mrs. Fields, etc.

      • acslater017 - 9 years ago

        For the company that proudly states “you’re not the product” and introduced MAC address randomization for privacy, I doubt they’d do anything like that without user opt-in.

      • jnuneznj - 9 years ago

        Apple doesn’t currently do this with iBeacons and the iPhone’s GPS and believe me they are everywhere. If you use NJ Transit and you are at their station you get an icon on the lock screen to open their app. It’s nice and out of the way.

      • WaltFrench - 9 years ago

        The iPhone already puts little reminders in the lower-left corner of your home & lock screens of apps that are relevant to location. For instance, in front of a Starbucks, a mini-icon appears, to make it easier to pay with the app.

        Yes, it’s totally opt-in. I mostly leave it off—Starbucks is my best option only when traveling in the US—so I might be a bit off about its appearance on-screen.

        I’m pretty sure Apple’s iBeacon guidelines similarly respect users who want to be able to go into a shop without being bombarded by useless notifications.

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

      Apple watch is definitely what they had planned for indoor directions. No sound, just taps for turn left or right. You don’t even have to look at your wrist… which if you are carrying a Jamba Juice could lead to a nasty spill : p

      • cjt3007 - 9 years ago

        Idk about, but I don’t need both hands to carry a Jamba Juice…

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

        one for Jamba Juice, and one for all the other shopping bags you are carrying.

  2. rwanderman - 9 years ago

    The fact that it’s taken Apple this long to get New York subway information into maps is infuriating. I’d rather not have google maps on my phone but… It’s got what I need.

  3. guysgab - 9 years ago

    I’ve been using this feature through the Google Maps app forever, so it’s hard to get excited about something that’s years late..

  4. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

    I will beta test the shit out of this. Just give it to me already!

    I fully expect + and – zoom buttons that would work with force touch with new hardware.

    If they don’t have a way to zoom out with one hand I’ll flip and just spam them with new bug reports. Every time I go back to Apple maps I try to zoom out with google’s gesture and I’m aways so frustrated that I have to put down what I’m carrying just to zoom out. It’s unacceptable. Also, why don’t they always show you which way you are facing like google does? That’s how you orient yourself to know which way to walk. When you press the orient button it can be jarring because your target point may have actually been behind you and it’s moved off screen.

    I can’t rant enough about this topic. The internet will be a better place when this feature comes out, I’ve beta tested it to make sure they don’t screw it up, and then it’s released and works great. I’ll finally be able to sleep at night : p

    • cjt3007 - 9 years ago

      You can tell it to orient to which way you’re facing… I personally like that it default to cardinal N at the top most of the time unless you tell it otherwise.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

        no, that’s what I mean. Orientation and displaying which direction you are facing should not be the same thing. I usually like having the map oriented to north but I still what to know which way I’m facing. In google maps it always shows you the blue field-of-vision-indicator and the orientation button just toggles in and out of orienting the map between cardinal north and your field of vision.

        it’s also so confusing how when you do use the orientation mode in apple maps and you try to pan the map to see further, it jarringly pulls you out of orientation. Look pretty or not, Apple maps is actually horribly designed in many ways.

  5. scyanide1983 - 9 years ago

    How about avoiding tolls? I swear the easiest feature that should have been there since day one.

  6. Now if they could leverage the data collected from users on the buses to create real time positioning of public transportation. That would be a great reason to switch from apple maps to google maps.

    • cjt3007 - 9 years ago

      privacy privacy privacy location-tracking-gate blah blah we’re scared of companies using “anonymous data that tracks anything about us that helps other people” blah blah.

      • Evan - 9 years ago

        How do you think they get the data to show traffic conditions? Showing where public trans are real-time is the same implementation. The only problem is people are less likely to have their GPS running on a bus or a train, unless they’re playing Ingress :)

  7. Court Kizer - 9 years ago

    Maps needs lane guidance like Google maps added months ago. It’s a feature you can’t live without in a big city. Apple’s maps look better visually, but I’m forced to used Google maps for the the feature.

    • Gazoo Bee - 9 years ago

      Not knowing literally *anything* about street-level features is one of Apple Maps biggest flaws. Clearly Apple thinks the same since they are sending all those vans around to map … street level features!

      I’m still sceptical however. Outside of the USA (and in many cases outside of California within the USA), Apple Maps data is still almost unusable. I know people get tired of hearing this (especially Californians), but it really is.

      All Apple really has covered outside of the USA is some very basic road information. If you drive a car and don’t go down any streets that have only recently been put in (last four years or so), you are mostly okay with Apple Maps. This is a really, really, really, low bar however.

      Apple Maps are completely useless for anyone who doesn’t have a car. Adding Transit information is a (late) good thing, but they can’t currently correctly identify the location of the subway stations or bus stops in my town, and a big part of taking transit is the walking in between which again, they FAIL at completely. Apple walking directions are just plain wrong the majority of the time.

      • Barry Kushner - 9 years ago

        more whining. Apple maps are very “usable” in Canada. The majority of the time Apple’s walking directions are wrong? prove it.

  8. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

    Mark, I really hope your sources are right with this one… I also hope the 4s isn’t dropped from support. I’ll be very sad if iOS finally gets public transit and I can’t install it. I feel like they will : [

    • I can’t see Apple supporting a 4-year old iPhone, or even the iPad 2. Come WWDC 2016, I’d be surprised if Apple still keeps 32-bit support for iOS 10.

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

        iPad mini (a5) is still on sale and has 32-bit architecture. I doubt they will drop that hardware and also drop software support the same year. If iOS 9 keeps 32-bit support than I’m not sure why they wouldn’t keep it around. Mine lived through the horrid iOS 7 betas. Anything from there could only be a performance improvement.

        That said, I really don’t have high hopes. I just have no interest in current iPhone hardware. I guess if the 5s goes plastic I’ll just get that.

    • cjt3007 - 9 years ago

      People that frequent tech blogs still have a 4(s)? Weird…

      • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

        The 4s works well for me. Things like quick reply and how siri has improved in iOS 8 has really given it some longevity. I just wish handoff worked.

    • Jeremy Horwitz - 9 years ago

      You may be pleasantly surprised.

      • cjt3007 - 9 years ago

        what percentage have a 4(s) according to analytics?

  9. dbussanich - 9 years ago

    Hoping for Waze-like set it and go functionality, or at least live route updating

  10. People fail to realize that it takes time to collect and add data. It’s not like some engineer or programmer sits in a room and BAM – here’s all the mapping data you’ll ever need. Google has been at this for over a decade, buying up dozens of early mapping and location based companies in the process.

    Apple is just getting started and have done a tremendous job of building out there own service this quickly. It’ll take a few more years before their service can come close to having the data Google has. Apple also uses public domain mapping and location databases that they push updates and corrections back into… Google does not.

    • metalhaze - 9 years ago

      People are dumb. Just ignore the haters. iOS 9 should do a good job at shutting them up for a while. Smart people know how it this all works. Don’t waste your breath, haha

  11. vandiced - 9 years ago

    I would use Apple maps in a heart beat IF they had the double tap + finger swipe up/down for zoom in/out that Google maps has. So useful for one handed use even in an iPhone 6+. Even other map apps do this (I forget which, I think Mapquest). Does anyone else not find this extremely useful??

    • Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 9 years ago

      Invaluable. I actually came up with that interaction and submitted it to apple’s feedback page before google implemented it. I was shocked when I just tried it in google fooling around and discovered they did it. So annoyed apple hasn’t done anything. Especially since they were so high on the one-handed use thing.

      I could see them not implementing it and skipping to pressure sensitive zoom in and out buttons like in the maps app for OS X on the new macbook trackpads. Force touch would make that nice.

    • metalhaze - 9 years ago

      Hey, smart guy….Guess what….Double tap the screen to zoom in…double tap with two fingers to zoom out. It works in Apple Maps right now in iOS8.

  12. mobileseeks - 9 years ago

    3 things would make me drop my use of other maps apps:
    1) Mass Transit – Also please let me know whether the information is based on real time positioning or scheduling. Some cities like San Francisco make bus location info publicly available, but other cities don’t (and just use scheduled times) so when I am visiting a new city, I need to know that.
    2) Add green lines for routes in congested areas that Apple knows aren’t congested. Apple Maps tells me where there is congestion on major roads but they don’t tell you which routes are all clear. I might avoid one route because Apple tells me that there is congestion, but I might just be going on a route that appears “all clear” but is actually just as bad and Apple doesn’t let me know. This would also be useful when I am having Siri navigate for me and they know which route I am taking.
    3) Have the ability to overlay other information like gas prices on to the map.

    • cjt3007 - 9 years ago

      do you really need a constant feed of gas prices? I’m sure there’s an app for that which won’t clutter up the navigation interface for the rest of us with random numbers, tenths of a cent, and dollar signs everywhere…

      • mobileseeks - 9 years ago

        You could make the gas prices show up only when you search for “gas station” in the search box. Of course there is an app for that (Gas Buddy), but that is example of “3 things would make me drop my use of OTHER maps apps”. Yes if you just think “in the box”, you don’t want to have gas prices there all the time, but if you can be a little creative you can create something very useful.

  13. riot999avatar - 9 years ago

    Something i else i suspect will be US only, then rolled out x years later to everyone else. *cough* Apple Pay, *cough* iTunes Radio…

  14. Transit bus guides in iOS 9 Maps? Yes, please!