There are some fantastic public transport apps available for iOS and Android. Some focus on trip planning and saved destinations. Others excel at showing the nearest services around you. Triptastic balances the two ideas better than any other, and for that reason it’s been my favourite transport app for the last year. Now, after 5 long months in development, Triptastic has received an iOS 7 update — and it’s absolutely stunning.
Triptastic is faster to use than any other public transport app I’ve tried, and I’ve tried them all.
On first launch, the app presents you with a map view based on your location. Tapping the blue dot will show you the nearest bus, train or ferry services about to leave around you in all directions. More frequent services are given a higher listing, so the trips you’re more likely to use will generally float to the top. If you’re looking for more specific information, tap on a stop or station and the next departing services for just that stop will appear.
Of course, Triptastic can also save the your favourite destinations, and in Triptastic 2, your number one destination will always be at the top of the screen, one click away. Bookmarking your favourite stops or suburbs is fast and intuitive, within minutes I’d bookmarked a bunch of my favourite stops and suburbs.
Quickly find all services leaving around you or focus in on a destination.
A new feature is the ability to quickly remove transport options from the view. This is particularly helpful if you’re looking for a bus stop around Central station.
Cut through the noise around transport hubs
Triptastic supports realtime tracking of Sydney trains and buses, so you can always see how late your bus is running. New in iOS 7, timetable information can download in the background, even if the app is closed. I’ve only tested the app in Sydney, but Triptastic 2 also supports Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and Queensland, and well as various cities in the USA.
There are plenty of fantastic public transport apps available, and it’s often hard to convince people to pay for one now that Google Maps supports transit, but trust me, Triptastic is the Tweetbot of the genre. Nothing is as fast, clever, or intuitive. Triptastic 2 is a fantastic update, and cost less than the price of a Zone One bus ticket.
[itunes link=”https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/triptastic/id601936596?mt=8&uo=4″ title=”Triptastic for iPhone” text=”Triptastic for iPhone is now available on the App Store for $2.99″].