this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2024
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Organic Maps are great, however if you're looking for shops and restaurants (or rather their reviews) Google Maps are second to none.
OSM can technically replace Gmaps for shops and restaurants if enough people were using and updating it.
However, Gmaps in unbeatable for public transportation :( no alternative at all
In Europe you can usually download an app for the public transit in that specific country/city. However, Google Maps is the only one that will show you how to get to a specific address (not just the train/bus station).
I use Transportr for that. It integrates with the different local metro systems. Works great in Sweden at least🙂
Cool, thanks for the tip!
Oh, I'm well aware of that, but there are so few cities that have been mapped to the degree to compete with gmaps, that I doubt we ever will reach that level.
Also reviews. I'm not sure if there even is a way to fix that without creating a separate program with a separate ecosystem in the process...
Unfortunately the reviews at GMaps are becoming less and less reliable though, as many businesses begin to have bad reviews removed through lawyers.
I've had it happen to a couple of mine, where Google forwarded the request of a law firm to prove I had actually been at a restaurant more than 5 years ago (where I reviewed it with 3*).
Even if you can prove it, most people won't and in that case the restaurant went from 3.8 stars to 4.6, which is a shame really. It confirms a hunch that just as with Amazon the reviews get a lot less reliable.
citymapper
Ooh, nice. Thanks for making me discover it! I would have liked a FOSS alternative, but this is pretty good.
Edit: argh, it's nice for local urban commute, but it doesn't work outside or between big cities :(
In Europe at least I had some minor functionality with OSMAnd... but Google beats it out no contest, in terms of speed, accuracy, and being up-to-date... which is depressing but that's the reality.
it's the only reason I haven't stopped using Maps
Facts, Google maps drive mode is also super handy
Drive mode = turn by turn, like the regular get directions and tap to begin navigation?
It's like the map from an angle without a specific destination. Helpful for showing the surrounding map area.
If you've driven a car with a built in map display, it's basically that but for your phone.