The Official MTA App

Consumer and social

public transit app

SHOW HN2024

141points
71comments
#602of 3,515 in 2024
Top 18%of 2024 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

6 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 11 critical, out of 26 comments about the project. Thread score -0.14.

Execution: 1 for, 3 againstDesign: 1 for, 3 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 3 againstPerformance: 1 for, 2 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Built-in offline maps are a great feature

    From 2 comments
    • The built-in offline maps are a great feature, thanks for that!
      paulgb on HN
    • I've been trying really hard to reserve judgment on this upgrade, but since you're asking here, this is a huge step backwards in usability. The good: you've added offline maps.…
      timr on HN
  • Improved over the beta and earlier versions, features now match Citymapper

    From 2 comments
    • For NYC specifically I've been burned many times by Citymapper. It is trying to be clever and parse the messages about service changes, but does it all wrong and in the end gives…
      avel on HN
    • Just want to send my thanks. I’ve been a regular user since the early testflights and it’s been great seeing the iterations and improvements, particularly for me the…
      miquong on HN

Objections

  • Redesign makes finding station arrival times harder; line search and navigation confusing

    From 2 comments
    • I've been trying really hard to reserve judgment on this upgrade, but since you're asking here, this is a huge step backwards in usability. The good: you've added offline maps.…
      timr on HN
    • the ‘search box’ is not good at finding stations so i can check when the next train is coming. i typed in ‘34th st’ and it returned a bunch of addresses, none of which are in…
      mambodog on HN
  • Privacy concern: Data Linked to You includes health, fitness and location data

    From 2 comments
    • Check out the “Data Linked to You”. Why does a subway app need my health and fitness data or any of my data at all?
      exegete on HN
    • >Data Linked to You >The following data may be collected and linked to your identity: >Health & Fitness Location Contact Info Identifiers Usage Data Diagnostics Location, linked…
      ThePowerOfFuet on HN
  • Beta to prod migration erased favorites and duplicates stations and buses

    From 1 comment
    • Nice to see there are humans here! - Going from the beta to the prod app erases all of my favorites - many stations (like Atlantic Ave-Barclays) have to be added two or three…
      paulschreiber on HN
  • Station search fails on common variants like 34th St and misses nearby subway stations

    From 1 comment
    • the ‘search box’ is not good at finding stations so i can check when the next train is coming. i typed in ‘34th st’ and it returned a bunch of addresses, none of which are in…
      mambodog on HN

Requests

  • Show a list of lines and stations with bookmarks and offline cached arrivals

    From 1 comment
    • I've been trying really hard to reserve judgment on this upgrade, but since you're asking here, this is a huge step backwards in usability. The good: you've added offline maps.…
      timr on HN
  • Bundle TrainTime features and OMNY card management

    From 1 comment
    • Nice to see there are humans here! - Going from the beta to the prod app erases all of my favorites - many stations (like Atlantic Ave-Barclays) have to be added two or three…
      paulschreiber on HN
  • Add live chat to customer service and integrate contact forms with ticketing

    From 1 comment
    • Nice to see there are humans here! - Going from the beta to the prod app erases all of my favorites - many stations (like Atlantic Ave-Barclays) have to be added two or three…
      paulschreiber on HN

Questions

  • Is there a web app?

    From 1 comment
  • Why not emulate the LIRR app design?

    From 1 comment
    • It certainly looks and feels much more modern, but I’m most curious what was behind the decision not to emulate the LIRR’s app - that one’s awesome
      pondemic on HN

Alternatives named

  • Citymapper

    From 2 comments
    • I live and swear by Citymapper[0] for all cities that it supports. No other app I've used has been as good for public transport as Citymapper has been. I really hope one day one…
      figmert on HN
    • For NYC specifically I've been burned many times by Citymapper. It is trying to be clever and parse the messages about service changes, but does it all wrong and in the end gives…
      avel on HN
  • Transit app

    From 2 comments
    • What are your thoughts on Transit app? Seems to cover the different systems pretty well IMO.
      zaptrem on HN
    • Have you tried Transit App ? https://transitapp.com/
      dotcoma on HN
  • TFL Go

    From 1 comment
    • This looks _very_ similar to TFL Go [0], the equivalent app for London. That's probably a good thing, as I really like TFL Go due to its focus on showing transit information as…
      nnyms1 on HN
  • Here NYC Subway Arrivals

    From 1 comment
    • You might like Here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/here-nyc-subway-arrivals/id6446206683 I use it because it opens instantly and just shows me nearby train arrival times. The…
      noahmasur on HN
  • KickMap

    From 1 comment
    • Great! I have been using KickMap because the MTA app used to suck. I will give this a try.
      65 on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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