According to 9to5Mac, Apple's Maps app will finally include mass transit service routes and navigation in iOS 9, coming in the fall. The long-awaited Maps integration will allow iPhone users to get directions that take into account bus routes, subway maps, and train schedules. In addition, transit spots like subway stations will be easily visible on the map, and there will be a Transit map view available alongside Standard, Hybrid, and Satellite.
To kickstart this mass transit feature, Apple is only making the service available in a few select cities, including New York City, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Paris, Toronto, and some cities in China. The 9to5Mac report claims that transit navigation for Boston and Tokyo are coming soon and that two other major U.S. cities "known for public transportation" are likely to get the feature soon after--Washington D.C. and Chicago come to mind.
Unlike most Apple products, Apple Maps did not come out of Cupertino to resounding public applause. When it first launched, Maps was plagued with so many embarrassing location errors that Tim Cook himself had to apologize. The fact that Maps did not include bus and subway routes was a major complaint for users who relied on public transportation to get around.
Cook went insofar as to encourage users to install third-party apps while Apple worked on perfecting its app. In iOS 8 Maps even has a dedicated tab when planning your route showcasing all the navigation apps like Waze, Uber, and single-city public transportation apps that can get you to your destination more conveniently--even Google Maps. (See the screenshot above.)
The impact on you: It's been since 2012--when Apple removed Google Maps as its official maps data provider in iOS 6--that iPhone users have had to rely on third-party navigation apps to get mass transit directions. If this rumor is correct, that's all about to change very soon. With this integration of mass transit navigation, Maps could finally be on its way to becoming a real Google Maps competitor.