Citymapper is the Apple Maps and Google Maps replacement you never knew you needed

Posted by Adam Harraway on July 2nd, 2018
iPhone & Apple Watch App - Designed for iPhone and Apple Watch, compatible with iPad

Citymapper logo

I'm not great at many things but I am proud to say that I never get lost, ever, I know exactly where I'm going (and where I am) at all times, like a human sextant, forging ahead using nothing but the stars and the horizon as my guide.

Anyone who knows me is probably thinking what complete and utter nonsense those previous few sentences are. I get lost, like a lot, mainly because I have a penchant for wandering off without a second thought.

That's all well and good if you've lived in a place for a long time and can easily find your way home, but not so much when you're a transplant in a big city like London or New York. That's where Citymapper comes in.


What is it?

Most city slickers will probably have heard about Citymapper but until I moved from my hometown to New York I had no idea of its existence. For the first few m,onths I spent my time relying on the god-awful Apple Maps to get around, outwardly sighing as the obnoxious turn by turn voice navigation dipped the volume of my tunes whilst I strutted around Manhattan trying not to look like a lost rabbit.

Citymapper iOS screenshot 1

Then, a friend noticed me using Apple's attempt at city-guidance, gave me a look of disdain, and introduced me to Citymapper. From that point on, I could happily walk to Williamsburg and buy myself an overpriced bagel without needing to call a search party. I was absolutely delighted when I moved back across the Atlantic and found it worked in London too. Now, I can't live without it.


What does it do?

Well mainly, it gets me places, every single day. But Citymapper is, as the name suggests, a city map(p) of the urban-journey-planning variety, currently offering its services in 39 cities across the globe. It gives real-time journey planning with a massive amount of options for travel. It will literally tell you the quickest, cheapest, or rain-safest way to get to wherever you need to go. Ee that via walking, bus, train, tube, or rideshare.

More than that it'll tell you which tube carriage is the least busy, and where you should stand to avoid having a sweaty pit in your face for the entire ride (take that Apple Maps). I have literally no idea how they manage this - I'm assuming they've genetically engineered an army of rats to be able to count and transmit data but what do I know? I'm not a scientist. What I do know is it actually works.

Citymapper iOS screenshot 2


Saves money too

Another reason I love Citymapper is that it actually saves me money. There's always the temptation to fall asleep in the back of an Uber pool with some strangers after a night out, and spend a regrettable amount of cash getting home. But with Citymapper I can find the easiest night bus or tube home and shovel my takeaway in slowly for £1.50 - a portrait of modern life at its finest I'm sure you'll agree. If you haven't got it and you live in one of the 39 cities then go get it, if your city isn't on there then you can go and vote for your city to be the next one to get the Citymapper treatment, go do it, it's a life saver.

iPhone Screenshots

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Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 1 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 2 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 3 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 4 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 5

Apple Watch Screenshots

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Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 6 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 7 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 8 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 9 Citymapper: All Live Transit screenshot 10
Posted in: News, Opinion, Guide
Tagged With: Apps, Google Maps, Citymapper
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