Breaking: Apple Buys HopStop to Boost Transit and Location Data in Maps

Apple has confirmed to AllThingsD that it will purchase HopStop, the transit and navigation planning website and app that was founded in 2005. News of the sale was first reported by Bloomberg.

This will give a much needed boost to its much-criticized Apple Maps services on both mobile and desktop devices, by building transit information and planning services into it. When Apple launched its mobile app product in the fall of 2012, critics were especially harsh on its lack of transit information.

It’s a big day for mapping news at Apple. Earlier today, AllThingsD revealed that Apple was purchasing Toronto-based location data company Locationary. Locationary specializes in location information about a business, both in terms of geolocation and whether it is a restaurant, shop, or hotel, for instance. HopStop also includes information about businesses on its website.

HopStop has transit information for transit services in over 140 cities in the U.S. and abroad. Users can report delays within the smartphone app but unlike mapping service Waze, it does not track user movements.