In the past, there have been countless times that I have been walking to the train station and I see my train approaching the station (I live in an area with an elevated subway system.) 90% of the time I usually decide to run full speed to try and catch it; and the other 10% I usually end up saying “forget it, guess I’m late!” I know, I had bad time management, and I still somewhat do…
If you’re like me and can relate to what I just said, I guess you’re tired of missing your train because you either rushing out of your house or you just don’t know when your train is approaching the station. Rene Ritchie states in his article, “The Transit App for iPhone Review” that an app called Transit has made finding the nearest station, catching a train or knowing when a train is scheduled to arrive is as easy as checking the weather or a social media update.
Overall, Ritchie is very pleased with the Transit app, stating that it is, “incredibly well thought out, beautifully designed, and lightning-fast to use.” He supports those claims by stating that the app remembers the last route you took even if you closed the app, and it also relocates you to where you currently are via location services. Transit’s interface is also huge and the color’s match your city’s subway system. For example, in NYC, the D train’s color is orange and the regular buses are blue. Finally, the app requires minimal internet connection to process so even if you have a slow internet connection, the app will still be useful to you. I personally use this app myself on a regular basis so I can confirm that Ritchie’s claims about the app are valid!
source: me
What Ritchie is missing from his article is a comparison to other transit apps. What makes this app so different and useful compared to Google Maps or Apple Maps? More importantly, what makes the Transit app an essential? Ritchie does not go into detail about similar apps, and how the Transit app is superior. Arguably, his article is indeed titled, “The Transit App for iPhone Review” so it makes sense to pretty much talk about only the Transit app, but consumers reading his article such as myself would like to know why we should download this app and why we this app is a better alternative to the current transit app we are using.
The Transit app does contain characteristics of variability and cultural transcoding. For variability, the app is updated regularly and it is strongly influenced by its users. According to Adrian Athique, “The ‘author’ of the message is influenced by the wider cultural context of the society that they inhabit, as well as by their own social and institutional position (page 92.)” He is saying that the author or developer(s) in this case, are subject to strong influence from its community. They will listen to constructive criticism and make any changes necessary. Since the Transit app is on the App Store, users can easily make a review on it and the developers can either learn from their mistakes, or adopt better ideas. Over time, the app will continuously improve through updates and customization. For cultural transcoding, it is an application, so it is created through a software, engineered for humans. According to Lev Manovich, “On the level of representation, it belongs on the side of human culture, automatically entering in dialogue with other images… but on another level, it is a computer file that consists of machine-readable headers, followed by numbers representing color values of its pixels (page 45.)” To us, we see the easy side of the app, vivid colors, big fonts, and a beautiful display, but the app was created with a much more complex background than we may assume.
In conclusion, I’d like to know how you manage your way around NYC! Do you use Transit yourself? Or perhaps another app? Or do you just wing it? Can you think of a negative consequence that would result in using this app? For me, the app isn’t always accurate, so it may make or break your day!
I definitely have to agree with your comments William. Whether you own a car or not in NYC, you’re still bound to use public transportation at some point. New Yorkers are busy and always in a rush to get to and from places. I have used the transit app before myself and found that like you said, it is useful but can be inaccurate. With the train stations have train times now, the may not be used as frequently as before but it does help when you’re lost! From the other transit apps I’ve used I’ve found this one to be the most helpful.
I agree with you, this app is a life changer as a new yorker train update is important. I too live near elevated train platforms and having the heads up about the train arrivals especially in the winter is great. I use a different app called moovit and its help me to get to school in time and show me nearby stations or buses. This app offers a lot of conveniences and improves the everyday commuter life.
First of all, I have heard of this app from other people but I never knew the name of it, so I’ll go download it! Before this app, I had to predict when the train would come for my morning commute to school. Literally I’m like “If I miss the 8AM train, that’s okay because I’ll get the 8:11AM or 8:17AM train.” Google Maps helped me sometimes with knowing when a train would come, but of course I couldn’t take Google Maps with me when I went to a different country. Surprisingly in Korea, when I went last year, maybe it’s just because their trains are always timely (MTA take notes please) their version of Google Maps (Naver Maps) was very accurate. For here though, it’s a hit or miss. Is it essential? For me or the New Yorker who is always on the go, it most likely is because it’s one of the few options left to feel secure about timeliness for the trains.
I have heard of this app but I have never used it. I use the MetroNorth OnTime app and even that is inaccurate sometimes and train times can be early or delayed and they don’t give you a heads up. Public transportation, especially in NYC, is easily accessible and should be used. I will definitely try the Transit app!
I personally use this app and its so true about how accurate and helpfull this is. I usually dont leave work till 1am and at that time sucks to miss the train because the next train won´t come right away. So before I leave work I would go on the app and look for my train schedule to see If I should run to the train station or just do a nice walk.