Embark Plans 1.3M Transit Trips Since Apple’s Release Of iOS 6
Embark is pretty good but it doesn't solve the "what's the fastest way from this random location in SoHo to Port Authority" problem. I can tap on two stations and find the fastest way between them, but Google would tell me which option to take, of which there are a lot:
* Walk to W4th, A train (or C/E train) directly to Port Authority
* BDFM from Bway/Lafayette to W4th, A train
* BDFM from Bway/Lafayette to NQR at 34th, walk from 42nd.
* NR from Prince to 42nd
* 6 from Bleecker/Spring to Union Square, NQR to 42nd. This is a long and annoying transfer, which Google probably picked up on.
* 6/NR -> L -> ACE (probably not)
Since Embark's map is the stylized subway map, it doesn't really help with geographic locations.
There are other situations like this: should I take the J train at Bowery directly over the bridge and walk for a while on the other side, or should I walk to the 6 and take the L train under the river, getting off much closer to my destination? The estimated walking time factors into this - if there's a J train about to arrive and I'll narrowly miss the 6, the answer is obvious. If I'm going to have to wait for both, my time is better spent walking to a train that will get me closer to my destination.
Hey guys, David here from Embark. If you have any requests for features or for new cities, we'd love to hear it.
So what is the business model here? Just introduce ads at some later point? I see they have plenty of investors and it looks like a great service. I just hate not knowing how people plan to make money off of me.
Are there any thoughts for including bike routes or that ilk?
I live in the east bay (Berkeley, CA), and when I go to San Francisco, I often want to see what it might be to take BART + finish on a bike. This is opposed to finding a place to park. Just knowing what "bike routes" or bike lanes near to my stations is usually helpful.
This is also because BART + bike is usually a nice time vesus BART + Muni.
Not quite relevant to the article, but the Android version of the app (NYC one, at least) crashes on opening around 50% of the time for me. Although the resulting error message is laugh-worthy[1], it's still kind of annoying.
In their desire to shed themselves of Google, Apple has opened a window of opportunity for 3rd parties to enhance their own maps' utility. History suggests, however, that this window will be small, and I expect in the long term, the best bet for the 3rd party apps is to be acquired by Apple.
No San Francisco MUNI, huh? What are iOS 6ers using for this?
HopStop is much better IMHO. It can show real maps for one thing, and supports multiple transit agencies.
I have been using iBart for some time - I didnt realize it was by Embark until today.
I LOVE the app. It is beautiful, useful and just a great app.
I have one feature request: "LEAVE NOW" notifications.
I would like to setup trips with a desired arrival time, and would like an alert telling me to "leave now" to make that trip, or a "leaving now will result in an arrival time of [X]" button that will tell me when i would arrive should i leave at that time.
There are a range of features I could add to this - but the base app is great...
For example, I like to leave my house around 8am