Maps For iOS, macOS Gets New Orleans Public Transit Directions Ahead Of Mardi Gras Festival

Last week, Apple helped tourists traveling around Houston, Texas for Super Bowl LI by updating its Maps app for iOS and macOS with the city’s public transit data. This week, the Cupertino giant is doing the same for tourists heading to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras festival.

Apple Insider reported that because New Orleans is expecting an influx of tourists ahead of its Mardi Gras parade on Feb. 28, Tim Cook’s company grabbed the opportunity to help these tourists find their way in the city by updating its Maps app. The update comes with transit directions that will help iPhone and Mac users reach their destinations within the city.

The transit data seeded to the app include a mix of bus, train, streetcar and walking directions. Amtrak information is also available for tourists who plan to go to places within the city via train. Jefferson Transit buses are supported by the feature as well. The different routes are color-coded to make it easier for users to keep track of their itinerary. Users are advised not to head to areas with missing transit directions.

Apple originally introduced transit data to its Maps app in the earlier versions of iOS. Unfortunately, it was removed from the app when iOS 6 was launched. Then, it was reintroduced in 2015 when iOS 9 debuted. At the time, transit data was made available to select cities all over the world, including Los Angeles, Berlin, New York, London, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and more than 300 cities in China, according to MacRumors.

In iOS 10, transit data can be viewed via its own tab in the Maps app. It has also been expanded to many destinations within the country, such as Miami, San Diego, Dallas, Portland, Kansas City, Seattle, Honolulu and Denver. The feature has also expanded to show transportation data of England, Scotland, Wales, Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham, Newcastle, Liverpool and Glasgow, among many others.