Apple Maps Real-Time Transit Information Now Available in Tokyo - MacRumors
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Apple Maps Real-Time Transit Information Now Available in Tokyo

Real-time transit information in Apple Maps has been expanded to Tokyo, Japan, enabling users to get live details of more than 20 railway, bus, and tram lines throughout the metropolitan area, Apple has announced.

real time transit maps tokyo
With real-time updates on ‌Apple Maps‌, users in Tokyo can view detailed schedules, real-time departure and arrival times, and transfers to help plan their journeys. Apple adds that important real-time transit information such as service suspensions and delays will also be provided.

Apple says the transit information in its Maps app covers services provided by JR East, Tokyo Metro, and other agencies through the ODPT (Open Data Public Transportation Council).

No update is required to get the real-time transit data. Additionally, with the release of iOS 18 this fall, users across Japan will also be able to explore detailed topographic maps on their iPhones, complete with contour lines, shaded relief, and hiking trails.

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Top Rated Comments

24 months ago
This is good news, to be sure--Apple Maps transit directions in Tokyo were good, but certainly have room for improvement. And nearly a quarter of the country's population lives in Tokyo, so if you're going to start somewhere to roll it out, Tokyo is it.

...but I really wish they'd improve transit schedules past the trains in moderately more rural areas. The lack of bus schedules really hamstrings the usefulness for anywhere not directly next to a train line.

Example: Google Maps will tell me exactly which local bus (or busses) in Yamanashi to ride to get from the southern part of the valley to the central part. There are several local and regional bus lines that serve that area, and it's entirely practical to get around on them.

But if I do the same search in Apple Maps, it only has trains and the highway bus to Tokyo, so I get a worse-than-useless suggestion to ride a long-haul bus for two hours into another prefecture, transfer to a different long-haul bus, and ride that all the way back. Just saying there's no route would be better, or suggest I take the train then walk for an hour, which is more realistic, cheaper, and three times as fast.

Yes, Yamanashi is relatively rural, but it's still got a population of 800K, gets a decent amount of tourist traffic thanks to Mt. Fuji, and there aren't that many local busses you'd have to add the schedules of to make Apple Maps useful. If Google can manage, surely Apple could spare however many hours of labor it would take to get better bus route coverage.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
24 months ago

This is good news, to be sure--Apple Maps transit directions in Tokyo were good, but certainly have room for improvement. And nearly a quarter of the country's population lives in Tokyo, so if you're going to start somewhere to roll it out, Tokyo is it.

...but I really wish they'd improve transit schedules past the trains in moderately more rural areas. The lack of bus schedules really hamstrings the usefulness for anywhere not directly next to a train line.

Example: Google Maps will tell me exactly which local bus (or busses) in Yamanashi to ride to get from the southern part of the valley to the central part. There are several local and regional bus lines that serve that area, and it's entirely practical to get around on them.

But if I do the same search in Apple Maps, it only has trains and the highway bus to Tokyo, so I get a worse-than-useless suggestion to ride a long-haul bus for two hours into another prefecture, transfer to a different long-haul bus, and ride that all the way back. Just saying there's no route would be better, or suggest I take the train then walk for an hour, which is more realistic, cheaper, and three times as fast.

Yes, Yamanashi is relatively rural, but it's still got a population of 800K, gets a decent amount of tourist traffic thanks to Mt. Fuji, and there aren't that many local busses you'd have to add the schedules of to make Apple Maps useful. If Google can manage, surely Apple could spare however many hours of labor it would take to get better bus route coverage.
Yamanashi public transit and modern technology? Blame Fuji Kyuko for that one. It was only a few years ago that they finally put in some Suica terminals at the stations (many, many, many years after basically all of Japan was already using Suica/Pasmo/etc).

I can’t remember exactly when, but I can probably track down old Line messages where I said something like “Guys! You’ll never believe it! They actually put in a Suica terminal!!! We’re like a real city now!” 😂
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
24 months ago
Good to know. Waiting for it to be available in other regions also.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)