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I think OSM is amazing. Way better at mapping than Google. When I hike I'm just walking in a green square in Google maps. OSM has every trail and hillslope etc.

I think OSM is amazing. Way better at mapping than Google. When I hike I'm just walking in a green square in Google maps. OSM has every trail and hillslope etc. But what OSM lacks is real-time integration with public transport. If my bus is slow or redirected Google will tell me. I don't think this can be improved by the users. It really needs a data feed from the transport operators :'(

KronisLV 5y ago
I've found that overall, for public transport, HERE maps is a feasible alternative in most cases, here's a quick example of how a route might look (though there is a mobile app available as well, IMO the performance is much better than Google Maps'): https://wego.here.com/directions/publicTransport/Riga-International-Airport,-P133,-M%C4%81rupe,-1053:428ud15c-6ec73a7d31504213be85af5badf1f5af/Br%C4%ABv%C4%ABbas-gatve,-Riga,-LV-1006,-Latvia:56.98342,24.20300?map=56.95233,24.09137,13,grey https://wego.here.com/directions/publicTransport/Riga-Intern... Now, of course, Google probably still has more real time data in this regard, especially since it's possible for them to aggregate it due to a large amount of users and so on. It would be nice to have more FOSS projects pop up that would deal with providing company listings and reviews on the map like Google does, as well as would provide more real time transport information as well. But hey, at least OSM gives us a really good starting point, the rest is a matter of building it and getting the data!
- commoner 5y ago
  HERE WeGo is a great alternative to Google Maps. It works on Android, iOS, and web. Business data is pulled from TripAdvisor. (The app store ratings for HERE WeGo are a bit low because they recently rewrote the app and the first few versions were unstable. The rewrite added lane guidance, which is a useful feature to have for driving directions.) - HERE WeGo (web): https://wego.here.com https://wego.here.com - HERE WeGo (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.m... - HERE WeGo (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-maps-navigation/id955837609 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-maps-navigation/id95... If the quality of the OSM data in your area is good, the best OSM-based apps are: - Organic Maps (FOSS, simple interface): https://organicmaps.app https://organicmaps.app - OsmAnd (FOSS, loaded with features): https://osmand.net https://osmand.net - Magic Earth (proprietary, uses a non-OSM data source for address locations): https://www.magicearth.com https://www.magicearth.com All 3 of these apps support both Android and iOS.
  - KronisLV 5y ago
    Thanks for the additional links, it's nice to have that many options!
  - Nextgrid 5y ago
    Watch out - it has Facebook malware in it. The app constantly pings Facebook in the background and includes device data (and potentially location data?).
    - commoner 5y ago
      Are you referring to HERE WeGo? I just did a network monitoring test run and I do see that it connects to 157.240.19.19 (Facebook) when the app is opened, but it doesn't seem to make any more connections after that. That is interesting and something I haven't noticed before. Thanks for mentioning it. Exodus says that HERE WeGo has 1 tracker (Facebook Login): - Exodus report for HERE WeGo: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.here.app.maps/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.here.ap... Organic Maps, OsmAnd, and Magic Earth have no trackers: - Exodus report for Organic Maps: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/app.omaps/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/app.omaps/l... - Exodus report for OsmAnd: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/net.osmand/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/net.osmand/... - Exodus report for Magic Earth: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.generalmagic.magicearth/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.general...
      - Nextgrid 5y ago
        I have captured traffic from the iOS app a couple years ago or so and saw frequent contacts to Facebook domains; this is indeed due to the Facebook SDK which contacts FB regardless of whether you use Facebook features or not (I definitely did not). It may have changed since then and if so that's great!
        commoner 5y ago
        I had missed some information on my network monitoring app (RethinkDNS[1]) and updated my last comment before seeing your reply! You're right about the connections to a Facebook server, though I'm only seeing the connections when the app is cold-started on Android. I haven't had the chance to test on iOS. The Facebook Android[2] and iOS[3] SDKs are source-available. From a privacy perspective, when someone compares Google Maps to HERE WeGo, the question is whether using Google or HERE (plus the Facebook SDK) would be more of a privacy violation. I don't have a good answer to this question. But from a market share perspective, HERE WeGo is a minor player compared to Google and using it instead of Google Maps would help curb Google's market dominance in mapping. Of course, if a free and open source OSM-based app is viable for your area, I would go for that instead. [1] https://f-droid.org/it/packages/com.celzero.bravedns/ https://f-droid.org/it/packages/com.celzero.bravedns/ [2] https://github.com/facebook/facebook-android-sdk https://github.com/facebook/facebook-android-sdk [3] https://github.com/facebook/facebook-ios-sdk https://github.com/facebook/facebook-ios-sdk
yosito 5y ago
Transportr is a decent Android app for getting public transport directions with OSM. https://f-droid.org/packages/de.grobox.liberario https://f-droid.org/packages/de.grobox.liberario Missing real-time service updates, but otherwise good.
weeblewobble 5y ago
In Seattle at least, Google Maps real time public transport support was way behind an app called OneBusAway which was built as a graduate project by students at the University of Washington (https://opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org/overview/history/ https://opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org/overview/history/) I had this app for at least a year before Google Maps released similar functionality. I still use it occasionally as the UX is better if you already know what bus stop you want to use.

KronisLV 5y ago

I've found that overall, for public transport, HERE maps is a feasible alternative in most cases, here's a quick example of how a route might look (though there is a mobile app available as well, IMO the performance is much better than Google Maps'): https://wego.here.com/directions/publicTransport/Riga-International-Airport,-P133,-M%C4%81rupe,-1053:428ud15c-6ec73a7d31504213be85af5badf1f5af/Br%C4%ABv%C4%ABbas-gatve,-Riga,-LV-1006,-Latvia:56.98342,24.20300?map=56.95233,24.09137,13,grey https://wego.here.com/directions/publicTransport/Riga-Intern... Now, of course, Google probably still has more real time data in this regard, especially since it's possible for them to aggregate it due to a large amount of users and so on. It would be nice to have more FOSS projects pop up that would deal with providing company listings and reviews on the map like Google does, as well as would provide more real time transport information as well. But hey, at least OSM gives us a really good starting point, the rest is a matter of building it and getting the data!

commoner 5y ago
HERE WeGo is a great alternative to Google Maps. It works on Android, iOS, and web. Business data is pulled from TripAdvisor. (The app store ratings for HERE WeGo are a bit low because they recently rewrote the app and the first few versions were unstable. The rewrite added lane guidance, which is a useful feature to have for driving directions.) - HERE WeGo (web): https://wego.here.com https://wego.here.com - HERE WeGo (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.m... - HERE WeGo (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-maps-navigation/id955837609 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/here-wego-maps-navigation/id95... If the quality of the OSM data in your area is good, the best OSM-based apps are: - Organic Maps (FOSS, simple interface): https://organicmaps.app https://organicmaps.app - OsmAnd (FOSS, loaded with features): https://osmand.net https://osmand.net - Magic Earth (proprietary, uses a non-OSM data source for address locations): https://www.magicearth.com https://www.magicearth.com All 3 of these apps support both Android and iOS.
- KronisLV 5y ago
  Thanks for the additional links, it's nice to have that many options!
- Nextgrid 5y ago
  Watch out - it has Facebook malware in it. The app constantly pings Facebook in the background and includes device data (and potentially location data?).
  - commoner 5y ago
    Are you referring to HERE WeGo? I just did a network monitoring test run and I do see that it connects to 157.240.19.19 (Facebook) when the app is opened, but it doesn't seem to make any more connections after that. That is interesting and something I haven't noticed before. Thanks for mentioning it. Exodus says that HERE WeGo has 1 tracker (Facebook Login): - Exodus report for HERE WeGo: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.here.app.maps/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.here.ap... Organic Maps, OsmAnd, and Magic Earth have no trackers: - Exodus report for Organic Maps: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/app.omaps/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/app.omaps/l... - Exodus report for OsmAnd: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/net.osmand/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/net.osmand/... - Exodus report for Magic Earth: https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.generalmagic.magicearth/latest/ https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/com.general...
    - Nextgrid 5y ago
      I have captured traffic from the iOS app a couple years ago or so and saw frequent contacts to Facebook domains; this is indeed due to the Facebook SDK which contacts FB regardless of whether you use Facebook features or not (I definitely did not). It may have changed since then and if so that's great!
      - commoner 5y ago
        I had missed some information on my network monitoring app (RethinkDNS[1]) and updated my last comment before seeing your reply! You're right about the connections to a Facebook server, though I'm only seeing the connections when the app is cold-started on Android. I haven't had the chance to test on iOS. The Facebook Android[2] and iOS[3] SDKs are source-available. From a privacy perspective, when someone compares Google Maps to HERE WeGo, the question is whether using Google or HERE (plus the Facebook SDK) would be more of a privacy violation. I don't have a good answer to this question. But from a market share perspective, HERE WeGo is a minor player compared to Google and using it instead of Google Maps would help curb Google's market dominance in mapping. Of course, if a free and open source OSM-based app is viable for your area, I would go for that instead. [1] https://f-droid.org/it/packages/com.celzero.bravedns/ https://f-droid.org/it/packages/com.celzero.bravedns/ [2] https://github.com/facebook/facebook-android-sdk https://github.com/facebook/facebook-android-sdk [3] https://github.com/facebook/facebook-ios-sdk https://github.com/facebook/facebook-ios-sdk

yosito 5y ago

Transportr is a decent Android app for getting public transport directions with OSM. https://f-droid.org/packages/de.grobox.liberario https://f-droid.org/packages/de.grobox.liberario Missing real-time service updates, but otherwise good.

weeblewobble 5y ago

In Seattle at least, Google Maps real time public transport support was way behind an app called OneBusAway which was built as a graduate project by students at the University of Washington (https://opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org/overview/history/ https://opentransitsoftwarefoundation.org/overview/history/) I had this app for at least a year before Google Maps released similar functionality. I still use it occasionally as the UX is better if you already know what bus stop you want to use.