Ever fallen asleep inside a train or bus? Yeah, that happens to everybody. Google wants to make sure that never happens again.
Google Maps now offers a new helpful feature for travelers and commuters who often lose track of time, sleep, or daydream while in transit. The app now sends a notification when the user is approaching their stop, helping them avoid missing their intended destination.
Google Maps Gets Transit Navigation And Alerts
It's something Google Maps has been missing all these years for some reason, which, considering that it's already available on other maps the likes of CityMapper, is somewhat baffling.
Aside from notifications, Google Maps also offers step-by-step navigation, departure times, and an estimated time of arrival for the user's next public transportation ride. Commuters can also track their progress as they travel, which is also possible when biking, driving, and even walking. When driving, users are naturally alert and are paying attention to turn-by-turn navigation, but there's a greater tendency to doze off when using a public transportation vehicle. Notifications in Google Maps are a great way to shake people awake when they need to get off.
How To Use The New Feature
The new notifications are available for now on Google Maps for Android, but it's highly likely that the iOS version will also get the feature later on.
To check the new feature out, download the latest version of the app, launch it, enter the destination, select directions for Transit, and tap on the preferred route. Finally, hit the start button. Afterward, the app will begin sending out stickied, ongoing notifications. Google Maps takes care of the rest so users can daydream or think about other things until the app tells them that it's time to get off the train or bus.
This is, however, not the first time for transit navigation has popped up in Google Maps. As Ars Technica notes, a transit navigation mode was actually added in 2011 and later removed in an update and has been missing for years. It remains uncertain exactly why Google removed the feature at the time, although it's great that it's back in a new and improved form. Hopefully, this new one sticks around for a long time.
Thoughts about Google Maps? Do you use public transportation vehicles often? Would you personally find step-by-step navigation notifications useful? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
