Take the A train? Apple, Google and other apps can tell you

NEW YORK (AP) — HopStop, a pioneer in offering transit directions in major cities, disappeared in October — not because it failed, but because Apple bought it and shut it down after putting its engineers to work building Apple's own transit-navigation service.

[...] transit services offer you navigation routes via train and bus, usually based on published transit schedules.

Given that stations can stretch for blocks, this approach can mean more walking if there's a closer entrance just around the corner.

Google Maps now covers public transit in hundreds of cities on every continent except Antarctica.

While Apple Maps requires an iPhone, iPad or Mac, Google Maps has an Android app and works on other devices through a Web browser.

[...] Google Maps doesn't offer precise directions to station entrances and exits.

[...] while Google Maps recently updated its Android app to offer directions without an Internet connection, that's limited to driving directions.

Volunteers improve coverage by adding information on bus routes and schedules from smaller transit agencies that don't provide mapping data.

New York's transit agency, for instance, provides warnings about such changes, but the timetables aren't automatically updated.