The Next iPhone and Transit Data
July 17, 2012 | ∞ Emily Badger, writing for The Atlantic Cities, ponders how the next iPhone will expose the lack of open transit data:
Apple’s in-house software, in other words, will be able to tell you how to get from LaGuardia to Yankee Stadium by car, but not by public transit. For now, at least, Apple appears to be banking on third-party developers to fill that gap by creating transit tools you can download in the app store. But the strategy relies on a pretty big assumption. Third-party developers need open data to build these tools.
I have several thoughts on this.[1] First, transit data should be open. It is better for everyone (except maybe Google) for that information to be as widely distributed as possible. The notion that transit agencies should make money from the data is ludicrous. Making the data available is part of getting people to choose transit. If the agencies really want to make money from the data stream they can always put their own app in the AppStore and either charge for it or put ads in it.
Second, it is extremely unlikely that Google will completely cede its presence on the iOS platform just because Apple is replacing Google data with their own in house data in the native Maps app. I guarantee there will be a Google Maps app in the AppStore and that app will have access to Google’s transit data.
Finally, this actually allows forward thinking agencies the ability to build really great custom apps that contain richer data than the standard format and have those apps featured in a way that will get them used. Think about an app that in addition to giving good transit directions also tells you the bus is running 5 minutes late. Or imagine an app that notifies you when your bus is 10 minutes from your stop.
Rather than being a problem, I view Apple’s decision as an opportunity - an opportunity to push for open data and an opportunity for really great apps to be made. And the Google maps will be there if needed as a stand alone app in the AppStore.
- A point of clarification - this change is in iOS not specifically the next iPhone. The two will likely be introduced nearly concurrently but the change effects all iOS devices running iOS 6, not just the new iPhone. ↩
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