Apple Maps Transit Directions Now Available in Phoenix and Birmingham, AL Areas

[MacRumors]

Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data in the Phoenix, Arizona and Birmingham, Alabama areas, enabling navigation with public transportation options such as buses and trains in those regions.

In the Phoenix area, supported vehicles include Valley Metro buses and trains, and the PHX Sky Train at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Routes extend to and from suburbs such as Chandler, Mesa, Glendale, Scottsdale, and Tempe.

In the Birmingham area, supported vehicles include MAX Transit buses operated by the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Transit directions have also recently been enabled in Montgomery and Huntsville.

MacRumors reader Bernd Keuning, who keeps close tabs on Apple Maps, also sees hints of transit directions eventually expanding to Nordic and Baltic countries. Progress is visible in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Keuning has a good track record, having tipped us ahead of time about transit in several cities and countries where the functionality eventually launched, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Ottawa, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Taiwan, and Singapore.

The telltale sign is that Apple Maps typically adds station outlines to a region shortly before launching transit directions in the area.

Apple Maps gained a Transit tab in iOS 9. The feature lags several years behind Google Maps, but Apple's public transportation support is at least exhaustive, mapping all station entrances and listing departure times. Apple Maps also provides detailed advisories about service interruptions and other changes.

At launch, the feature was limited to Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and over 300 cities in China. Since then, Apple has been working to expand support for public transportation to other cities around the world.

For an occasionally updated list of cities and regions with Apple Maps transit directions, visit the iOS Feature Availability page on Apple's website.

Article Link: Apple Maps Transit Directions Now Available in Phoenix and Birmingham, AL Areas

 

[Dekema2]

Add them to Buffalo so I can get rid of the Transit app. It's a shame that Google Maps can give me walking, bus and transit directions from my suburban Buffalo house to Toronto's Pearson Airport across the border, and Apple Maps can't. We only have 1 little light rail system and a few bus lines.

 

[eagleglen]

Finally!!!!! I’ve been waiting for this for what seems like forever for Phoenix to be finally included. Thank you Apple.

 

[adamjackson]

I bet Tim is happy about B-Ham being added. Vulcan approves:

 

[lwwilson]

I be Tim is happy about B-Ham being added. Vulcan approves:

I remember back about fifteen years ago when Vulcan was being restored they just had his pieces sitting out in the Vulcan Park parking lot. We took a field trip up there for some reason, and I'll never forget crawling around on the inside of his notorious buttocks. Every time I look at it, I point at it and say to myself, "hey, I've literally been inside there."

 

[matteman50]

Birmingham has public transit now? LOL

 

[lwwilson]

Birmingham has public transit now? LOL

Birmingham's always had buses, but only recently has ridership begin to surge. The total ridership of the US 280 line alone has increased 15x over the past three years alone. With the new transit hub between southside and downtown, and new downtown circulators plus lines to the airport, it's been a pretty dramatic sea change in public transit utilization over the last five years. Heck, I know people now who actually live downtown and don't own a car at all. That was absolutely unimaginable five years ago.

 

[matteman50]

Birmingham's always had buses, but only recently has ridership begin to surge. The total ridership of the US 280 line alone has increased 15x over the past three years alone. With the new transit hub between southside and downtown, and new downtown circulators plus lines to the airport, it's been a pretty dramatic sea change in public transit utilization over the last five years. Heck, I know people now who actually live downtown and don't own a car at all. That was absolutely unimaginable five years ago.

Wow. I haven't lived there in a while and never would've expected this. On the other hand downtown is more happening than it's been since the 50's. Great to hear. Thanks for the report.

 

[lwwilson]

Wow. I haven't lived there in a while and never would've expected this. On the other hand downtown is more happening than it's been since the 50's. Great to hear. Thanks for the report.

It's absolutely crazy how much it's changed. Every time I go back there's something new to see. The restored Lyric theatre, the Pizitz food hall, the two seventeen story apartment buildings in Southside that are beginning to come up, the (definite but slow) progress on the Civil Rights National Monument, etc. etc. The youth participation in politics (or the fact there's millennials moving into the city at all) definitely is a statement in and of itself. I mean, with the help of the youth vote (and people who want to see development spread from downtown and Avondale to other neighborhoods that haven't changed as much) the city just elected a young, ambitious Berniecrat as mayor.

Probably one of the most interesting things has been watching the hermetically sealed over-the-mountian suburbs open up. In fact, Hoover, Vestavia, and Mountain Brook are beginning to seriously consider partnering with the city on introducing a rapid transit bus line along 280, given how much the ridership has increased. The fact that's not even dismissed out of hand is mind blowing to me. Even on smaller things the cooperation between other municipalities, the city, and the county is light years ahead of where it was a decade ago.

 

[tdroz73]

Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data in the Phoenix, Arizona and Birmingham, Alabama areas, enabling navigation with public transportation options such as buses and trains in those regions.

And that my friends is why mass transit is so horribly broken in Phoenix - nearly 3 hours to get out to the west side from the airport. Otherwise, 25 min by car.

Nice to see they added the option for the region - but there's a lot of work to be done here to make any of this worthwhile...

 

[Dieselspeaks]

Santa Barbara got the Transit option this past month.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Yay now I can get rid of the crappy Ridekick App from valley metro!

Now let’s hope it’s better than the driving directions which still pronounces street names wrong.

 

[matteman50]

It's absolutely crazy how much it's changed. Every time I go back there's something new to see. The restored Lyric theatre, the Pizitz food hall, the two seventeen story apartment buildings in Southside that are beginning to come up, the (definite but slow) progress on the Civil Rights National Monument, etc. etc. The youth participation in politics (or the fact there's millennials moving into the city at all) definitely is a statement in and of itself. I mean, with the help of the youth vote (and people who want to see development spread from downtown and Avondale to other neighborhoods that haven't changed as much) the city just elected a young, ambitious Berniecrat as mayor.

Probably one of the most interesting things has been watching the hermetically sealed over-the-mountian suburbs open up. In fact, Hoover, Vestavia, and Mountain Brook are beginning to seriously consider partnering with the city on introducing a rapid transit bus line along 280, given how much the ridership has increased. The fact that's not even dismissed out of hand is mind blowing to me. Even on smaller things the cooperation between other municipalities, the city, and the county is light years ahead of where it was a decade ago.

Just amazing that all of that is happening. I thought that growth was going to spread outward / southward indefinitely. Hopefully the electorate will be able to keep the city's government responsive to the needs of those who live and work there. Anyway thanks again for the reports.

 

[eagleglen]

Yay now I can get rid of the crappy Ridekick App from valley metro!

Now let’s hope it’s better than the driving directions which still pronounces street names wrong.

You’re right, the Ridekick app is horrible. One thing that is missing from the Apple update are real time estimates for when the next bus will arrive based on GPS data from the actual bus. If you’re interested I knowing that, I suggest the Transit App.