An irate traveler took to Reddit to show the internet the unreasonable travel times in their area when using Apple Maps to navigate public transportation.
Cars are big polluters, producing toxic fumes and contributing 3.3 billion tons of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere per year to drive up Earth's temperature. The E.U. is dealing with that by banning all new gas-powered cars by 2035 and turning to public transportation and EVs.
So far, though, American culture is still firmly embracing individual passenger cars, with a public transportation system that can be difficult to use, as this Redditor illustrated.
In their recent post, they shared two Apple Maps screenshots: one showing the two-hour and 18-minute drive from Austin to Houston, Texas, and one showing the app's suggestion for traveling between the two cities using public transportation. The fastest available route circles through multiple other cities, involves multiple transfers, and takes 29 hours.
"How is this allowed?" they asked.
Part of the problem, which commenters soon identified, was Apple Maps' incomplete information.
"I don't know why it doesn't show up, but there's 10 three-hour bus routes per day between Austin and Houston per Rome2Rio. Four Flixbus, four Vonlane, and two Megabus," said one user.
"Depending on the exact location, both Google Maps and Apple Maps can be a bit daft when it comes to public transit," another commenter agreed.
It's good to create efficient transit options between destinations in the U.S., but that's only half the battle. If travelers don't know the option exists, they're stuck relying on unnecessarily extended routes or individual cars, increasing their travel expenses and their pollution. Checking multiple apps and sites is one way to make sure you're getting a complete picture.
Meanwhile, there are many areas in the U.S. that really don't have good public transportation routes.
"Nonexistent rail connections between major cities is a huge problem in the U.S.A.," the original poster said, and added, "There should be a direct rail link with few stops between all major cities in the mainland U.S.A."
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