How is it difficult to switch to a maps competitor? Really depends on how much you use it, but most of my use involved looking up a location, then getting directions to it. There's no cost to switching, expect perhaps setting up my commonly used addresses, which are basically in my contacts anyway. I'm sure that there are cases that are harder to switch, but I'd guess that they don't apply to the majority of people.

Gmail, on the other hand, like any email service, is much harder to switch. Until we get mandated email address portability, like was done with phone numbers some years back.

It is the only map application that allow you to check public transport (bus/metro/tram) with changes other than (if it exists) a local app for the city.

As far as I know, there is no other map application that does that.

Exactly. Here in Tokyo, there is a local app that's tied into public transit just like GMaps, but all it does is tell you how to get from Station X to Station Y. If that's all you want to know, it works quite well. But most people want to know more than that: where is Business A, and what's the fastest/cheapest way to get there from my current location? Which station exit should I use? And oh yeah, how are the reviews on it? And can I see the menu, and place a reservation too?

Apple Maps does this

Transit is generally pretty awesome.

https://transitapp.com/

>How is it difficult to switch to a maps competitor? >but most of my use involved looking up a location

Right, and that's where most of Google Maps' value is: it's really a business directory combined with a navigation system. I'm not going to look up an address for some place, I want to just search for "<business name> near me" and find all the nearby locations and pick one and go there. Even better, Google Maps has reviews built-in so you can see if people hate a certain place.

>but I'd guess that they don't apply to the majority of people.

If you think the majority of people keep business names and addresses in a contacts list, you're really out of touch.

Also, GMaps has features competing systems usually don't, depending on locality. Here in Tokyo, it's tied into the public transportation system so it'll tell you which train lines to ride, which platform to use, which car to ride in, which station exit to use, when a train is delayed, etc. It'll even tell you exactly how much each option costs, since different train lines have different costs. Then, inside many buildings, it'll show you level-by-level what business is on what floor.

Those are all great features, but they are not features which lock you into the platform. If bing or Apple maps had the same utility I could switch to them at the drop of a hat.

So you are not aware that public transport companies in general have a public API for that data, and that openstreetmap exists?

"In general" is quite a stretch.

I am aware of plenty public transports in European countries that you better print out those PDFs, from their website, assuming they have them in first place.

> If you think the majority of people keep business names and addresses in a contacts list, you're really out of touch.

This is not at all what they were saying, and I'm not sure where you got that. What they're saying is that Google doesn't have a monopoly on business location data, so searching for a business on a competitor (especially a large one like Apple, but mostly even OSM) does just work.

> YouTube is a bit less clear: it doesn't really have any competitors, and is extremely popular and widespread, but it surely costs a fortune to keep running.

There was a brief moment when it looked like Twitch would kill YouTube; then, much like Instagram responding to SnapChat, they took the best parts of it and added them to itself. I'd be amazed if YouTube wasn't profitable now with the combination of more ads, more subscription/superchat options and the pandemic-era boom in streaming.