My pet peeve as a Londoner; the disappearance of the transit layer when searching for a place. If you've not searched for anything, New-oogle Maps will happily show you the card that lets you activate the transit layer and superimpose the spiderweb of tube lines on to the London map. However, the second a marker gets dropped, good luck seeing that layer ever again.
I mean, even if you clickity clack through the directions>origin>transit, Google will mark up its suggested routes while still refusing to superimpose the tube lines. It's maddening! For all the sophisticated route-mapping that I'm sure Google is bringing to bear on the problem, I'd much rather just look at a map that simultaneously shows a search result marker and the tube network at the same time and figure out my own route. And heaven forbid that I might want to see a collection of results for DIY shops and figure out which one I can get to quickest with reference to the underground network -- it seems that Google would have me route-map each of them in turn, write down the results and then decide. It's so deeply counter-intuitive that I struggle to think of any possible rationalisation for the decision.
I don't suppose anyone has a bookmarklet that toggles the transit layer?
Yeah, I have the exact same complaint. Took me 10 minutes to find out how to get the transit layer back. Then I found out it was practically unusable because as soon as you scroll across London, it disappears...
Have you tried using Citymapper? I've only used it a couple of times as I'm not a Londoner, but it's quite good (it knows to avoid the circle line!). Coincidentally, the first time was to get to #HNLondon where one of the Citymapper guys was giving a talk.
Citymapper is excellent, especially their mobile app's get-me-home feature (ideal for instant bus combos after the tube's closed). However, it's not designed for the vaguer queries -- nearby cafes, haberdasheries, etc -- at which google maps used to excel.
I mean, even if you clickity clack through the directions>origin>transit, Google will mark up its suggested routes while still refusing to superimpose the tube lines. It's maddening! For all the sophisticated route-mapping that I'm sure Google is bringing to bear on the problem, I'd much rather just look at a map that simultaneously shows a search result marker and the tube network at the same time and figure out my own route. And heaven forbid that I might want to see a collection of results for DIY shops and figure out which one I can get to quickest with reference to the underground network -- it seems that Google would have me route-map each of them in turn, write down the results and then decide. It's so deeply counter-intuitive that I struggle to think of any possible rationalisation for the decision.
I don't suppose anyone has a bookmarklet that toggles the transit layer?