Google Maps testing ‘Go’ tab with public transit, subsumes ‘Commute’

Abner Li | Feb 20 2020 - 1:22 pm PT

Following a new icon and app redesign to coincide with its 15th anniversary, Google Maps is rolling out a new “Go” tab. It groups together the old “Commute” section and other transit-related shortcuts.

Compared to “Commute,” “Go” — with a car and rail icon instead of home and office — has a wider purview than just your trips to work and back. All of that original functionality remains but is now placed in the second (top) tab.

The default view is “Destinations,” which is essentially the dropdown that appears when you tap on the search bar. This includes a carousel of shortcuts for “Home,” “Work,” and other labels, while there’s a list of past lookups underneath sorted by Today, Yesterday, This Week, and Last Week.

Tapping immediately starts a search, while the card can be hidden by swiping down. Meanwhile, other users have encountered top tabs for “Lines” and “Stations and Stops” that deal with public transit options. The latter shows your stared routes with filtering options.

The new Google Maps Go tab — not to be confused with Maps Go for lower-powered Android devices — is not widely available, but appearing on several devices around the world after updating to version 10.35.2.