Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

If you miss Google's Transit Maps

M

moosemeister

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 11, 2010
3
0
My daughter is a college student away at school in a major metropolitan area and was devastated when she found out she no longer had transit maps to assist her with bus routes and such. After extensive searching for alternatives, we found this solution works best and I thought I'd share if anyone else is in a similar boat. First, go into privacy settings and make sure location services is set to on for Safari. Then go to the URL google.com/transit. Follow the prompts to add Google transit to your home screen, sign in with a Google account (it doesn't seem to work unless you do), agree to allow it to share your location, and that's it. Transit maps restored. Figured I'd share in case anyone is in a similar pickle. I really wish Apple and Google would end their little you-know-what match because the only losers are us, whenever one of them removes a very useful feature just to thumb their nose at the other. It's quite childish behavior for heads of billion dollar companies....
 
moosemeister said:
I really wish Apple and Google would end their little you-know-what match because the only losers are us, whenever one of them removes a very useful feature just to thumb their nose at the other. It's quite childish behavior for heads of billion dollar companies....
Click to expand...

Why are you blaming Google in this? They would LOVE for Google Maps to be on iOS6 as the default Navigation app. They would LOVE for Google Maps to be an app on iOS6. They have made that very clear since this whole Apple Maps fiasco started. The data they receive from all the iPhone users is too valuable for them to ignore even if Apple is their competitor.

If you want to blame somebody, the only one you can blame is Cook. He felt like they had to get Google off of the iPhone and make a Maps app, which is understandable. Unfortunately, they partnered up with the wrong companies with incorrect data. They omitted major features that Google Maps has. The UI for maps is too simple and not international friendly. I also believe that they are holding back the Google Maps app to let the initial launch of iOS6 users correct the most glaring flaws in data. Having Google Maps on the market would lessen the effect of making their own Map app as they would not get any data.
 
Last edited:
Stropaganda said:
Why are you blaming Google in this? They would LOVE for Google Maps to be on iOS6 as the default Navigation app. They would LOVE for Google Maps to be an app on iOS6. They have made that very clear since this whole Apple Maps fiasco started. The data they receive from all the iPhone users is too valuable for them to ignore even if Apple is their competitor.

If you want to blame somebody, the only one you can blame is Cook. He felt like they had to get Google off of the iPhone and make a Maps app, which is understandable. Unfortunately, they partnered up with the wrong companies with incorrect data. They omitted major features that Google Maps has. The UI for maps is too simple and not international friendly. I also believe that they are holding back the Google Maps app to let the initial launch of iOS6 users correct the most glaring flaws in data. Having Google Maps on the market would lessen the effect of making their own Map app as they would not get any data.
Click to expand...

Did it occur to you that there are different reasons that may have lead to Apple dropping google maps?

What if Google insisted on more invasive user data mining?
What if Google insisted on embedding ads in the maps?
What if Google insisted on exerting more control over the user interface?
What if Google insisted on less favorable financial terms for the contract renewal?

The fact that they're at war with each other, with Google having stolen Apple's ideas for their Android platform is just icing on the cake. While many of us would have preferred the new Apple maps app to be more polished on its release, it would be stupid for Apple to allow a continued dependence on Google for such a key iOS application.
 
jetaero@bellsou said:
Did it occur to you that there are different reasons that may have lead to Apple dropping google maps?

What if Google insisted on more invasive user data mining?
What if Google insisted on embedding ads in the maps?
What if Google insisted on exerting more control over the user interface?
What if Google insisted on less favorable financial terms for the contract renewal?
Click to expand...

No, it didn't occur to me because I believe the simplest answer with the fewest assumptions is more likely to be true. You could come up with a million possible reasons, but unless you have evidence to believe it, it's all here-say. You already agree that Apple would be dumb to continue having Google in charge of a huge part of iOS. What evidence do you have to make it more complicated than that?

jetaero@bellsou said:
The fact that they're at war with each other, with Google having stolen Apple's ideas for their Android platform is just icing on the cake.
Click to expand...
"Good artists copy. Great artists steal." ~ Steve Jobs

jetaero@bellsou said:
While many of us would have preferred the new Apple maps app to be more polished on its release, it would be stupid for Apple to allow a continued dependence on Google for such a key iOS application.
Click to expand...
I would agree, but they should make sure that the customer is not the one to pay for it. Either that or make sure that Google had everything it needed and was ready to go for the App Store from day 1. Also allowing Google Maps to be set to the default navigation app would be nice, too.
 
Actually the reason why Apple dumped Google is the same reason why many other companies like FourSquare are dumping Google.
Google first announced plans to begin monetizing Google Maps nearly a year ago, including a requirement that any new services forward display advertising in Google Maps along to their end users, so Google could start generating advertising revenue from the service. The hammer truly dropped in October 2011, when Google finally revealed pricing for Google Maps services.....SNIP.....significant load volumes would begin to incur charges: basically, services and applications that generated more 25,000 map loads per day would be charged $40 to $10 for every additional 1,000 map loads. For folks using styled maps — the most intensive and customized option — the initial threshold is 2,500 maps per day.....SNIP.....However, if you’re a company like Apple — with over 180 million iPhones and 60 million iPads in the wild, all with Google Maps built in — the fees start to add up.....SNIP.....
Click to expand...
Reason justified? Yes. Proper roll-out i.e. beta etc? No.
 
patent10021 said:
Actually the reason why Apple dumped Google is the same reason why many other companies like FourSquare are dumping Google.Reason justified? Yes. Proper roll-out i.e. beta etc? No.
Click to expand...

https://developers.google.com/maps/faq
If your application exceeds these usage limits you must respond in one of the following ways in order to continue using the Maps API in your application:

Modify your Maps API application such that the number of map loads generated per day is below the usage limit for each service that your application uses;

Enroll for automated billing of excess map loads in the Google APIs Console;

or Purchase a Maps API for Business license.
Click to expand...

So basically, they didn't want to purchase the license? I think it's only like $10,000 a year.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...-charging--thousands-sites-apps-hit-fees.html

I highly doubt this is emptying Apple's wallet. It's chump change to them. It's a reason, but there is definitely something much more to it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back