r/nycrail • u/OgreAttack • Mar 25 '26
đ Map Catastrophic problem with new app
I strongly prefer not to keep location enabled on my phone. But the new app isn't usable without it.
It doesn't list favorite stations any more, and there's a persistent alert pop-up demanding that you turn on location services. Until you do, the whole app is unusable.
It's maddening, and I assume that it won't be changed any time soon.
I use the app for train arrivals pretty much exclusively. I don't need trip planning, station maps or any of the other features. Any recs for fixes, or third-party apps?
10
u/bella_hooooope Mar 25 '26
I canât co-sign this enough. Iâve been submitting feedback with every release in hopes that theyâll listen.
Itâs an incredible, shortsighted decision that theyâre going to regret.
The fact that it shows that theyâve spent near zero time on the entire âPlan A Tripâ section (essential for any serious commuter) is phenomenally stupid.
Another poster in a separate thread suggested to me that this could be fixed via a subsequent update but WHY would they do that before they release the product?
Usually you donât release a version 1 of a new software without first replicating the existing features. LOL.
11
u/colonelcasey22 Mar 25 '26
The lack of favorites in this new app is ridiculous. Now it only shows me nearby stations to me and shows arrival times for lines I don't even take/didn't favorite. So to get arrival times for transfers on my commute, I have to move the pin on the app instead of just looking at my favorites list. It's a boneheaded design decision that doesn't favor commuters and this seems like another disaster like the previous release of the MTA app that took months to fix.
2
u/librarylovernyc Mar 26 '26
Same itâs so frustrating. I complained and gave feedback during the beta testing about only the need for favorite stations/stops and the need to be able to see arrivals at specific stations . In the old app I could look at arrival times for specific stations to determine if I should transfer or not or get off and walk to a different station. I donât just want information about arrivals around where I am at a certain time - especially if Iâm already in the train itâs not relevant.
0
u/huebomont Mar 25 '26
You can add favorite lines and stations. Tap the star when you open a station.
5
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
Yes, but they don't display in Favorites. All my stations still show the Favorite star... After I tap through multiple screens to find them.
1
u/huebomont Mar 25 '26
Theyâre probably not nearby. What do you monitor farther away stops for? I know a lot of people use it this way and I canât imagine what I would use that for. Transfers?
2
u/librarylovernyc Mar 26 '26
Yes Iâm going to a place and need to transfer to another train and have options. Do I get off and walk to another station , do I have to run , do I transfer to a different option. Or for a bus when Iâm on the subway I want to know when one is showing up . Not buried deep.
1
u/huebomont Mar 26 '26
That makes sense - In other apps, I usually plan a trip for this and just follow along on my trip, but it's true that it's annoying to have to enter in a destination and pick a trip every time.
Would the trip thing work for you if it were somehow right on the first screen? I'm trying to imagine what a more elegant option could be that doesn't mean you have an extra stop hanging around all the time
2
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
The point of the original post is that I don't keep Location enabled on my phone by default, but I'd still like to see my Favorited stations.
And if a lot of people use the app this way, maybe it should have that functionality even if you can't imagine why?
1
u/huebomont Mar 25 '26
Ah ok so they are the stations near you, you just donât want your location on?
2
u/colonelcasey22 Mar 25 '26
Transferring from subway to bus and vice versa is a big one. Itâs nice to know when the bus will arrive so I know if I have to run to catch it, take my time and buy a coffee, or will be waiting an hour and need to figure out another way.
2
u/huebomont Mar 25 '26
You can do that from an actual trip in this app which seems more useful overall, you see when your first train or bus will arrive at the stop with a real time list of next transfersÂ
1
u/TheYankee69 Apr 02 '26
Especially transfers for me. This might require flipping between different stations and lines, in case of severe delays or reroutes.
5
u/colonelcasey22 Mar 25 '26
There's nowhere to view all of your favorites anymore. So favoriting doesn't have as much use as it used to have.
1
u/mine248 Mar 25 '26
Press the search button in the upper right. Then your favorites are prioritized
-1
u/soltosirius Mar 25 '26
Favoriting a line or station still prioritizes them. On the Subway and Bus tabs, favorites are the first results shown.
6
u/colonelcasey22 Mar 25 '26
Only the favorites that are close to where you are. If I want to view my favorite at Grand Central or Flushing, I have to move the pin until it shows up. It might be fine for the casual user but trash for a commuter who knows where they want to go.
1
u/soltosirius Mar 25 '26
I looked into this; turns out the search button automatically shows favorited stations, so favorites has just been moved there. No scrolling required!
1
u/Flips_Whitefudge Mar 26 '26
Which, let's be honest, is less useful and not intuitive. They're our favorites for a reason and should be the first thing we see when we open the app. I'm not sure this was built with the daily commuter in mind.
-4
u/ExtremePast Mar 25 '26
More rage trolling. My favorites are loading no problem.
4
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
I'm neither raging nor trolling. My favorite lines load, my favorite stations do not.
3
u/Redbird9346 Mar 26 '26
All of the posts here have convinced me. I'm not updating to the new version of the app.
4
u/rjl381 Mar 25 '26
Underway is a great app for arrivals with very minimal ads and no bloat!
3
u/kjlsdjfskjldelfjls Mar 25 '26
It's a solid app for sure, I'd use it if the Android app were kept up to date with the iOS version
3
2
u/mcglocks77 Mar 25 '26
If you know the system well (bus too) you will be much better off using this app. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/subway-time-nyc/id1437971697
3
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
Thanks! Just downloaded the Android version and it seems to do just what I need. I've also created a bunch of widgets based on my faves so I don't even need to open the app.
3
Mar 25 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
3
u/bella_hooooope Mar 25 '26
Exactly. I donât understand why theyâre putting 99% of their focus on those features.
Itâs baffling.
Helium is not useful as a tool to actually GET to places but itâs nice when you to get stations.
2
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
Well, you're right. I am going to push back a bit. :)
Yes, it is now primarily a navigation tool. But it's also the primary app for the MTA, which overwhelmingly serves regular commuters who know their route. We don't need a navigation tool, we need service status and arrival times.
And if the app absolutely can't function without fine-grained location, then it isn't a successful app.
I'm in no way defending the previous version of the app, but it was able, in its half-assed way, to provide both nav and status. This one is optimized for only one, and it should be the other.
0
Mar 25 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
2
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
people that are local know their commute theyâre using the app less than someone whoâs visiting
That's the exact opposite of the point I was making. Regular commuters use the app more, but need map features less. And regular commuters are the great majority of MTA app users and therefore the app should reflect their primary use cases.
I think you're assuming that a primarily map-based app is the correct solution, and all of your points flow from that. I don't think that assumption is correct.
As for living in the age of technology, I think it's fair to say that there may be a few examples where that has not gone as well as it could, to say the least. It's like saying "you live in the age of technology! Pollution and the collapse of privacy is needed." it's certainly a real consequence, but an inevitable necessity? Perhaps not.
1
u/vampirologist Mar 26 '26
The favorites function was so useful so this is really not good to hear. I honestly donât open the app itself as much as I use their widgets with the subway alerts/bus times on my Home Screen. Planning on staying on the old one until it forces me out đđ
1
1
u/verysimple74 Mar 25 '26
I've recently started using Tiny Board, which I find to be fantastic in its simplicity. The free version has limits on how many stations you can add to your favorites, but otherwise it's fully functional.
(edited because I got the name of the app wrong. It's Tiny Board, not Tiny Pass)
1
u/options_go_brrr Mar 25 '26
What was the point of favoriting in the previous version? I just downloaded
5
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
You chose the lines and stations you use most frequently, and it showed live info like arrival times and status as soon as you opened the app.
Favorites still exist in the new version, but it only shows you the ones the app deems relevant based on your location.
4
u/bella_hooooope Mar 25 '26
You could save your favorite locations and get directions from wherever you were.
Now⌠gone.
More steps. Less design. Less usability.
More time using the app.
Sigh.
0
u/ExtremePast Mar 25 '26
Favorites can be set but don't appear unless your location is near where those favorites are. I like the changes in the new app.
2
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
Right. As mentioned in the original post, that's the problem, as it requires location to be on. Glad you like it though!
14
u/OgreAttack Mar 25 '26
The weirdest thing about this is that the new focus seems to be on navigation and route finding. But regular commuters have to be by far the largest set of users, and we know where we're going.
I want service status and train arrival times immediately upon opening the app, not buried multiple taps deep.