As you know, Apple has released iOS 6 widely, and I’m not too stoked about the new Maps application. I’ve been using it for a few months thanks to the developer version, and my experience has been maddening. Why? Because I take public transportation. A lot.
If you’re someone, like me, who lives in a metropolitan area like San Francisco or New York, then you know that schedules for public transit are your lifeblood. The experience needs to be fast and accurate, otherwise you’re stuck sitting around, and that blows.
Apple has decided to leave public transportation to third party apps, which is a really bad user experience in my opinion. If you take public transportation and will be using iOS 6, here’s what you can expect now that Google Maps has been yanked:
First, put in your address as usual, then select public transportation as your option:
Um, ok.
Then, you’re tossed to a list of third-party transit apps, which is empty if you don’t have any. Luckily, I did. I select it, and then….
Yeah, forget that shit. Take something that’s fast and convenient and turn it into a mess by adding the extra steps of downloading new apps from people I don’t know, and then having to tap them and open them separately. Good Job, Good Effort, Apple.
UPDATE: To be fair to Transit App, a third-party option that I have, they’re having hosting issues. However, this illustrates my point perfectly.
https://twitter.com/thetransitapp/status/248503498369556481
[Photo credit: Flickr]