Google Maps for the longest time has been a great help to commuters and car owners alike. But the flourishing mobile industry presents alternative solutions in helping people get around the city and find the place they are looking for, by means of mobile transit applications. There are several smartphone apps today that could provide real-time information on train schedule and delays, traffic routes, weather condition on a specific location, nearby restaurants, shopping malls and more.

One trend that’s driving an uptick in new services is data, how it’s gathered and how it’s given back to the end user.  Today we take a look at some of the latest trends in mobile transit tools and how their use of data is helping us all get around a little better, navigating urban settings and even personalizing our trips.

Embark

If you live in the city, you’d be crazy to drive yourself to work.  With the mass transit system becoming an essential part of urban living, mobile apps that offer fast and reliable information are gaining traction. A leading mobile transit app, Embark (formerly Pandav), has just eclipsed more than 20 million trips, becoming one of the fastest growing apps for US commuters.  Embark is continuously adding 2,000 new users daily and routing 2 million trips monthly.  To celebrate their growth, Embark’s also launched an update for the city of Boston.

Big data is a key driver behind Embark’s success, and the mobile app is one of many startups looking for the best way to convert data into something the every day consumer can use.  Embark leverages data from publicly accessed sources including transit companies and the government.  But one area Embark is looking to expand its data application is from its own users.

“User data is a work in progress,” explains Embark CEO David Hodge.  “In terms of the process, we’re figuring out how best to use it.  Right now we can focus engineering efforts on determining the best routes to tailor trips for certain events.  We want to make sure people are going exactly in the right direction.  You may not know how to transfer at Grand Central Station.  There will be more as the platform grows.”

HopStop

A free app available in the Android Market, HopStop tries to enhance its technology by leveraging on Skyhook’s location engine services in its Kindle Fire app. With this, Android apps that use Skyhook will automatically run on Kindle Fire.

Founder and CEO of Skyhook, Ted Morgan what improvements they can deliver to Kindle Fire’s location app:

“Kindle Fire has been an extremely popular device since its release and continues to grow. While the native platform provides no way for location-based apps to perform their core functionalities, Skyhook is happy to provide our fast and reliable location for popular apps like HopStop and MapQuest, which require it.”

HopStop is a location-based provider of transit routing, mass transit, taxi and walking directions in major metropolitans in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Russia. It is also a free ad-supported iOS app that allows a person to easily hop from point A to point B.

Earlier this week, HopStop announced a milestone, as they reach 1.25 million app downloads and is expecting to hit the 2 million-mark this summer. The iPhone app is the primary driver of these incredible figures. Now, it is pursuing a new endeavor with a brand new iPad app.

City Transit Apps

When we talk about subways, train stations and mass transit systems, NYC is the city on top of our list. As one of the busiest urban spaces in the world and home to the largest conglomerates, it’s no surprise that New Yorkers have fallen in love with mobile transit apps like iTrans NYC Subway.

This app contains timetables, offline advisories, push alerts, ticket pricing and directions of major railway stations at the Big Apple. A sister app, iTrans PATH also offers train schedule in New Jersey and can push advisory messages immediately.

Contests have also been a good opportunity for transit apps to show their stuff, prove to the public sector the necessity of their services, and gain some recognition.  Garnering the most number of votes in the recent MTA App contest, NYC Station Finder‘s iPhone app finds the nearest subway station identified with distance indication. Trainsmoker is also a very interesting app that tells smokers the legal spots to light up.