Transcript
[ Music ]
>> Hello. My name is Ellis
Verosub, and I'm responsible
for public transit
in Apple Maps.
Our goal here at Apple is always
to create the best possible
customer experience.
We believe that design
is not just
about how something
looks but how it works.
Great experiences are
intuitive and seamless.
In this talk, I'd like to
explore how these ideas apply
to transit in Apple Maps.
But first, I'd like to start
by giving you an
overview of our product.
Transit launched in September
2015 as part of iOS 9
and Mac OS X, El Capitan.
As of today, it is available
in 21 cities around the world
As of today, it is available
in 21 cities around the world
as well as over 300
cities in China.
We use transit schedule data
from over 250 transit agencies.
Here's a bit of a fun fact.
To date, we've mapped more
than 16,000 station entrances.
Next, I'd like to
give you an overview
of the four key features
of our product.
The first is a beautiful
transit map.
Roads and other driving-related
elements have been dimmed
out while transit
lines and key terminus
and transfer stations
are emphasized.
The second feature
is a departure board
for each station showing each
line that services the station.
The third is detailed point
to point directions along
with a guided navigation
experience.
Finally, we show
realtime advisories
Finally, we show
realtime advisories
and even modify our recommended
directions in response
to planned service changes
or unplanned incidents.
Our goal is to provide
a great experience
in each city we support.
So how do we do that?
We start with agency schedule
data, but we don't stop there.
We collect additional data
through original research
and field surveys.
Then we add in a layer
of curation to surprise
and delight our customers.
Our goal is that at every
moment customers should be able
to match the instruction we're
giving them to what they see
in the real world around them.
Gathering these details
takes a long time.
But as Steve Jobs once
said, "Details matter.
It's worth waiting
to get it right".
Here are some examples
of additional data
that we collect ourselves.
Station entrances and exits.
Station footprints or
the outlines of stations.
Agency signage.
And the real world
path of transit lines
by which I mean the path
that trains and buses
and ferries actually
take in the real world.
This example shows a
station entrance in London.
We've individually surveys
every entrance not just
for location but also type.
Stairs, escalator,
elevator, and so forth.
Here is that same entrance
represented on our transit map.
You can also see the
station outline here.
This is really helpful in
terms of finding your way into
and out of train stations.
Stations have different names
for exits and entrances.
From the outside, the entrance
might not even have a name.
But from the inside, there's
often a number or code.
We show that number
or code on our map
so that you can be
confident you are going
in the correct direction.
We try to match agency signage
as closely as possible not just
in terms of the signage itself,
but also what gets displayed
where and in what order.
Again, you see that
reflected on our map.
Finally, something that
is very important to us is
that the transit lines shown
on the map follow
their actual paths.
Many iconic transit maps such as
the London underground map are
schematic, not representative of
the actual path the lines take.
However, with a digital map on
a mobile device, it's important
that your location position as
reflected on the map matches
up with the line you're
actually traveling on.
This builds confidence
in the directions the
customer has been given.
After we've gathered all
of this additional data,
we go even deeper
into the experience.
Our belief is that every city
has a unique transit culture,
and we try to understand
and respect this culture
reflecting it back
at our customers.
In the next few slides,
I'm going to dive
into a few examples.
Boarding instructions vary
from system to system.
For example, in London
you board lines.
Whereas in New York
you board trains.
You don't take the
Victoria train in London
or the A Line in New York.
That's not a local convention.
Sometimes the line name matters,
but sometimes only the
system name matters.
Here in the Bay Area, for
example, you just take BART.
Sometimes the local convention
includes the type of vehicle,
sometimes it's assumed.
In Mexico City, we specify
that it's the Metro.
We capture these subtleties
because that allows
our customers
because that allows
our customers
to match what we're telling them
to the real world around them.
Here is a different example.
In New York, the MTA
doesn't list their lines
in alphabetical order.
Instead, they list
them by color.
A and C are blue,
B and D are orange.
You see the same ordering
reflected in our product.
Trams and street cars are
really the same type of vehicle,
but different cities
specifically refer
to one or the other.
For example, in Toronto,
you could tell a customer
to board the 510 Spadina Tram,
but that's not really correct.
Everyone calls it the
510 Spadina streetcar,
so that's what we
call it as well.
In Berlin, on the other
hand, you ride trams.
And that is reflected
in our experience.
And that is reflected
in our experience.
Here's another example.
In San Francisco, you
ride inbound and outbound.
Whereas in London or Toronto,
you go northbound, southbound,
eastbound, and westbound.
But in New York, you
go uptown and downtown.
Again, you see this
reflected in our app.
One final example.
In Rio, the bus rapid transit
systems are very important.
In many ways, they are
the equals of the Metro
and commuter rail systems.
We raise the prominence of
these bus rapid transit lines
on our map to reflect
their importance.
That's the blue and orange lines
that you see in this
screen shot.
Here is how we build
up our feature.
We start with agency data for
schedules, but then we survey
to add additional curated data.
For example, station
entrances and line geometry
as we've previously seen.
Then we customize the experience
to respect the unique
culture of each city.
Finally, this is all
wrapped in our user interface
to bring delight
to our customers.
Now, I'd like to give
you a short demo.
Let's say you just flew into San
Francisco International Airport,
and you'd like directions
to Moscone West for WWDC.
First, you can see our
multiagency transit map.
As I mentioned, transit lines
are highlighted while roads
are dimmed.
Now, we're going to
look at the departures
for Powell Street Station.
Powell Street is serviced
by both BART and Muni,
and you can see the upcoming
BART departures as well
as the upcoming Muni departures.
Now, at the top I noticed
there was an advisory.
When I tap on details,
I see that Muni has some
service changed in effect,
and we are communicating
those service changes
to our customers.
You can zoom out to see
the entire transit network
of the Bay Area.
Or you can zoom in
to get more details.
The information density
and the lines
that we show changes
at each zoom.
Now, some people may want
to have different choices.
So, for example,
they may want to see
if a bus route is available.
In our product, you can select
the exact vehicles that you'd
like to use for your journey.
Here is a competing bus route.
Now, we didn't recommend
this because it takes longer.
But it's an option
that's available to you.
So let's go back to our
BART route and examine
that in greater detail.
The route planner tells you when
to leave, how long it will take,
and gives a summary
of the route.
Tapping on this, I get
what we call the list view.
A detailed list of
instructions to follow.
I can expand the list
of stops if I'd like.
Now, when I select start,
I enter guided navigation
with detailed instructions.
Since I'm already
at the airport,
it just tells me
to board the train.
Tells me to exit at Powell, and
shows me the previous station.
Here you can see we're
recommending a very specific
exit with an exit code, E3,
that's best for Moscone West.
Finally, I arrive
at my destination.
That concludes the presentation.
For more information,
please visit this website
or e mail
maps-transit@apple.com.
Thanks for listening.