Apple Moving Closer To Adding Public Transit Routing To Maps

Apple has been talking about adding public transit data to its mapping product for a very long time. My understanding is that the company has had access to the transit data itself for some time, but for reasons that remain obscure has not has not been able to get transit directions into Maps yet. AppleInsider reports that Apple […]

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Apple Maps directions

Apple has been talking about adding public transit data to its mapping product for a very long time. My understanding is that the company has had access to the transit data itself for some time, but for reasons that remain obscure has not has not been able to get transit directions into Maps yet.

AppleInsider reports that Apple is now “searching for a software engineer who will join the Maps division’s Routing team.” The job seeks, among other qualifications, “in-depth knowledge about public transit, both as a consumer of those services and the technical aspects.”

Apple routing jobThe job description is broader than simply managing and implementing public transit data however. It appears to be directed toward making a range of improvements in the mapping product.

While Apple Maps has dramatically improved since its launch on iOS 6, Google Maps’ directions and routing remain more trusted and in many cases more reliable.

As AppleInsider suggests, it’s possible that mapping improvements will be announced at the forthcoming WWDC event in San Francisco on June 8.


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About the author

Greg Sterling
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Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

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