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"Over the week since Apple announced its own maps solution for the iPhone and iPad, a lot of attention has been given to the fact that, at least for now, it won\u2019t include public transit directions. There have been a lot of complaints and commentary, but I don\u2019t think that the reasons have been addressed clearly, so I talked to some smart people in the mapping industry and came up with a few answers.\r\nThe issue\r\nApple isn\u2019t including public transit directions as an option for users of its new Maps app in iOS 6. These directions, which are included in the current iOS 5 Google-powered version of the app, are incredibly important to urban dwellers, as explained by our own Drew Olanoff.\r\n\r\nInstead, Apple says that it will provide a section that highlights the best transit apps for any given local area, which will be targeted through App Store categories and location data. This section will be displayed right within the Maps app itself.\r\n\r\nThis isn\u2019t the only feature that Apple has left out of the Maps beta either, as it currently doesn\u2019t support a street view feature, another Google staple. But why were transit directions omitted for the beta, and when might we see a native feature and what is the deal with Apple saying that \u2018developers can do it better than us anyway\u2019?\r\nTransit Data\r\nThe data for these transit directions isn't as easy to come by as you might think. There are usually a variety of different sources for the data of any group of given cities. Many municipalities may make it publicly available for access to companies like Google, Apple or\u00A0individual developers. Some others publish the data but put forth no special effort to make it accessible to mapping companies. There are some areas where the data has to be negotiated or gathered manually when schedules are changed.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s safe to say that most major cities have this data made easily available, but the big picture is that there is no simple faucet of data that companies like Apple and Google, or independent developers for that matter, can hook up to in order to populate their apps with transit data. It\u2019s a complex operation that takes time and effort.\r\n\r\nIn fact, it\u2019s so complex that Google still doesn\u2019t offer transit data in all cities and areas. This is especially present in many areas outside of the US, where transit directions have never been available through the maps app on iOS.\r\nIs Apple Biding its Time?\r\nThe complexity of this data gathering raises a question: is Apple simply buying time to build its own transit database that will allow it to offer its own service at the launch of iOS 6?\r\n\r\nThis is one of the theories I\u2019ve been hearing raised, and it just makes no sense. Remember, Apple has said it will feature these apps for customers in iOS 6. In true form, many sites have taken to treating this early beta of the Maps app as entirely complete and have begun picking it apart. But you have to remember that this won\u2019t ship until \u2018the fall\u2019, likely along with a new iPhone.\r\n\r\nSo, when Apple says that it will display the apps in a special section, why would it only do so during a period that is supposed to be strictly for developer testing? At this point, with the information we have now, it seems clear that the Maps app will launch with the \u2018recommended transit apps\u2019 section in iOS 6.\r\n\r\nOne thing that is pretty evident at this point is that, while an individual developer\u2019s app may provide a superior transit experience in a local area, it will be less convenient to switch to it and use it than just tapping the \u2018transit\u2019 button. Is the trade-off worth it? I don\u2019t know, perhaps in those areas which had poor or no transit data before.\r\n\r\nThis user experience hit means that it is potentially likely that Apple will take the reigns of transit directions and include them in the Maps app of a future version of iOS. But it won\u2019t be the initial release of iOS 6 and, frankly, I wouldn\u2019t count on it for some time yet.\r\nBetter Transit Apps\r\nThe mapping folks and developers that I spoke to all saw this development as a positive one. As mentioned before, Google\u2019s transit data wasn\u2019t perfect, and there were areas where it was nonexistent altogether. There are half a dozen or more decent Muni apps for the San Francisco area, but other cities may have fewer or no options yet.\r\n\r\nFor those cities that never had transit data in Google\u2019s services, there is an opportunity for developers to source that data and create their own app to serve the customers locally. For those cities that have a bunch of transit apps already, this provides an opportunity to create a \u2018best-in-class\u2019 experience.\r\n\r\nIn the end, it\u2019s likely that the transit apps for your area will get better as developers compete and you may end up with one or more options for those directions where there was previously none.\r\nChill Out\r\nApple just introduced Maps this week, and, because it\u2019s an exciting development in the war against Google, it\u2019s going to get examined with a fine tooth comb. There are a lot of questions that will get asked and answered over the next few weeks, I\u2019m sure. But, when it comes to transit directions, just chill out. In all likelihood you\u2019ll end up with a transit option that is as good or better than what Google Maps gave you on iOS in the first place."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/06/16/why-apple-ditched-transit-directions-in-ios-6-maps/>