If you have a smartphone, you no longer need to worry
about finding out information on public transit in any major city across
the globe.
Last week, Google announced that it had
crossed the one- million mark in public transit stop information
available through its Maps application. The million transit stops are
spread across 500 major cities presented in an easy-to-understand
format.
The Indian cities on the list are Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi,
Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
Simple to use
In an update on its official Google blog, dated August 15, Christopher
Van Der Westhuizen, Software Engineer, Google Maps, said the latest
iteration of the Android app from Google Maps (version 6.10) simplified
transit information, allowing users to pick their preferred mode of
transit. This feature will be useful in cities that have multiple modes
of transit available, and thus multiple layers of data embedded on Maps.
Comprehensive list
“Since
2005, we’ve collaborated with hundreds of transit authorities around
the world to make a comprehensive resource for millions of riders to
find out which bus, train, subway or tram can take them to their next
destination,” Westhuizen wrote. “We’ve made some changes to the Transit
Lines layer, so that you can select a specific mode of public
transportation [train, bus, tram or subway] to display on the mobile
map, hiding the other modes. This is helpful in areas where there is a
tight concentration of several types of public transit.”
The
public transit information available for Chennai, for example, includes
data from the Chennai MRTS, Southern Railway and Metropolitan Transport
Corporation (MTC).
For New Delhi, the list includes
the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System, DMRC, Northern
Railway, Delhi Metro Rail and the Delhi Transport Corporation.
Quite naturally, the accuracy of the data depends on the transit
authority more than the information provided by the Maps application.
Signages
The
update to Google Maps is particularly useful in cities where visitors
are at odds reading signages in local languages and have difficulty in
getting around places. The Google Maps application for Android mobile
devices can be downloaded free from Google Play. It requires data
connectivity.
Other offerings
The maps
segment in the mobile applications space has become very competitive in
recent times, with the service finding favour among smartphone users.
While Google Maps has been the key player across platforms, Nokia too
offers a robust service with its Nokia Drive.
Google
has announced in recent months that it will revamp its Maps experience
and offer offline maps that can be downloaded by smartphone users and
used even when there is no data connectivity.
Meanwhile,
Apple has announced a major revamp of its on-device Maps application in
the next iteration of its iOS 6 operating system, which will be
launched next month.
