Travel with the Transit App
Contributed by Joel Zimba, Special Projects Coordinator, MDTAP
A long time ago, in a blog post far far away, I wrote about using Hop Stop for public transit navigation. Alas, Hop Stop was purchased by Apple, though its handy features have yet to appear in Apple Maps. While other GPS applications, such as Google Maps, offer public transit information, I find single-purpose apps are often more accessible and just plain easier to use.
Transit (and on Google Play here) is just such an app. One of it’s most useful features is listing the nearest public transit lines to your current location as soon as the app is opened. In the case of Baltimore, these are usually bus lines, though subway and trains are also supplied. As one would expect, the current address can be automatically used as the start or end point for route planning purposes. The search functionality produces useful results from even the most vague or incomplete addresses.
A list of suggested routes is supplied, along with departure and arrival times. By default, a map is displayed, though the steps of the route can also be presented in list form. While there is a tracking mode, I have not tried it. I expect it would alert a traveler to upcoming stops or transfers.
Transit is a simple and highly effective app. It does not yet appear to supply all of the additional useful information available through Hop Stop, such as detailed walking directions between transfer point or even such possibly critical details such as ADA information or Bike racks. Regular updates appear in the App Store, so I expect Transit will ramin an excellent tool for some time to come.
