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It's nice to see a thoughtful critique/comparison (dev on iOS gmaps here). Interestingly I don't think anyone who works on iOS maps lives in a citymapper-enable

by darren_ 12y ago

It's nice to see a thoughtful critique/comparison (dev on iOS gmaps here). Interestingly I don't think anyone who works on iOS maps lives in a citymapper-enabled city. Couple of points that might be helpful if the writer reads this: - you can switch off the shake-to-send feedback (it even prompts you to do so if you dismiss it a few times without leaving feedback). - I'm not sure how the Citymapper UI in scenario 2 (getting directions from a->b) differs from using the directions search screen in googlemaps (reached via the little button with arrows next to the profile button). It presents the directions search screen immediately and would cut down the time in that scenario drastically. (But I guess if the person writing the article doesn't know about that button that's rather a UI smell. I wonder how many people don't know that our things that don't look like buttons are buttons?) - Scenario 5 is also fixed by using the directions non-button, your previous searches show up in the zero type suggestions there. I am however going to try and convince the powers that be that Citibike integration is a must, so I can have a holiday to new york.

rspeer 12y ago
I'm glad there's (eventually) an obvious way to disable shake-to-send-feedback, but I agree wholeheartedly with the article. Who thought that was a useful feature to have in an app that you use while moving?
jfim 12y ago
I don't think adding the integration would be hard. For example, the Montreal bike system (and other Bixi deployments) has all the information you'd need to add the integration, including the lat/lon of all stations and their current bike count[1]. Citibike has a different endpoint[2] and data format, due to the contractual dispute between Bixi and 8D, so they had a different system deployed than other Bixi rollouts. A simple implementation would simply walk between the endpoints of the route and the closest bike stations. A better integration would also consider more complicated multimodal routes (walk, bike, metro, bike, walk) and historical usage patterns to predict empty/full stations. If it helps convince the PTB that public bike system integration is a must, I use it as my sole means of transportation during the summer months, relying exclusively on bike navigation (it's great!), then awkwardly fumbling with another app to find a bike station near my destination. [1] https://montreal.bixi.com/data/bikeStations.xml https://montreal.bixi.com/data/bikeStations.xml [2] http://appservices.citibikenyc.com/data2/stations.php http://appservices.citibikenyc.com/data2/stations.php

by darren_ 12y ago

rspeer 12y ago

I'm glad there's (eventually) an obvious way to disable shake-to-send-feedback, but I agree wholeheartedly with the article. Who thought that was a useful feature to have in an app that you use while moving?

jfim 12y ago

I don't think adding the integration would be hard. For example, the Montreal bike system (and other Bixi deployments) has all the information you'd need to add the integration, including the lat/lon of all stations and their current bike count[1]. Citibike has a different endpoint[2] and data format, due to the contractual dispute between Bixi and 8D, so they had a different system deployed than other Bixi rollouts. A simple implementation would simply walk between the endpoints of the route and the closest bike stations. A better integration would also consider more complicated multimodal routes (walk, bike, metro, bike, walk) and historical usage patterns to predict empty/full stations. If it helps convince the PTB that public bike system integration is a must, I use it as my sole means of transportation during the summer months, relying exclusively on bike navigation (it's great!), then awkwardly fumbling with another app to find a bike station near my destination. [1] https://montreal.bixi.com/data/bikeStations.xml https://montreal.bixi.com/data/bikeStations.xml [2] http://appservices.citibikenyc.com/data2/stations.php http://appservices.citibikenyc.com/data2/stations.php