CityMapper in Manchester – April 2015
Actually, this happened in January, but most people only new about it if they were already CityMapper app fans…I wonder how many Mancunians know about this legendary app, and if so, how they feel about the lack of real-time information on Metrolink (tram) and bus…which presumably TfGM need to be providing…just like TfL do?
What I like about CityMapper is that they don’t limit their user experience to those who have smartphones and use apps. They have an equally good web version too….( CityMapperManchester )
They are now launched in 17 cities across the world. They are London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Washington DC, Madrid, Boston, Barcelona, San Francisco, Chicago, Milan, Rome, Mexico DF, Tokyo, Hamburg, Los Angeles and Philadelphi.
Make your vote for the next city for CityMapper to launch in here.
My vote is for Liverpool!
Moovit launched! – February 2015
For more than a web-based experience of bus routes and to join buses up with everything else and start ‘crowd-sourcing’ issues and problems on the network, what better than to quote the following:
Hot on the heels of the company announcing its latest successful round of funding totalling $50 Million*, the smart public transport app Moovit has today officially launched out of beta in Manchester. The launch celebrates the start of Moovit’s mission to map the entire public transport network in all major cities across England thanks to a clever mix of data from local transport agencies mixed with crucial data crowdsourced from its community of dedicated users (www.moovitapp.com).
Designed to help travellers move more efficiently in and around the city with the busiest bus route in Europe, Manchester is the first city in England that the app has officially launched in outside of London.
The launch means that travellers can be made aware of real time events on the Manchester train, bus and tram network as they happen; understanding how it affects their journey from delays and cancellations right down to if a bus or train is clean and there are available seats.
For the first time ever, users of the app in Manchester can access the following from their mobile devices:
– Accurately forecast journey times door to door to know an exact, rather than estimated, time of arrival
– Track and avoid delays – so there’s no need to run for a bus or train again
– Share journeys with friends or colleagues – solving the problem of new visitors to the city getting lost
Following recent announcements by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) chairman Andrew Fender to “revolutionise sustainable travel” by overhauling the city’s Oxford Road area, and for free wifi to be switched on in their Metrolink tram system, Moovit’s Manchester launch is a timely and welcome arrival in the city, set to play a leading role in helping to speed up bus journey times.
“Our vision is to help get Manchester moving faster, improving the quality of people’s lives by reducing their journey times. With the recent announcement of a new 15-stop Metrolink line to Manchester Airport it is evident that the city is seeing an exciting phase of growth,” says Alex Torres, VP of Marketing and Product, at Moovit. “Over £313 million is set to be spent on the city’s transport networks by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority[1], and we’re keen to be at the forefront of tracking these improvements for the benefit of the people living, working and visiting here.”
Globally the app now has 15 million users across 500 cities and is growing rapidly, adding one new city every day to its covered locations worldwide.
Rafael Cuesta, Head of Development and Innovation at TfGM said: “Technology has become the primary tool people use to stay up to date when they’re on the move and access to accurate source data will be key to giving them something they are increasingly relying upon.
“TfGM is happy to share what data it has already and we are hard at work making more available in future, helping improve the way in which apps and other digital tools work. We also welcome the introduction of crowd-sourced information, which will provide our customers more information than we could provide without collaboration with technology partners such as Moovit”
Route Explorer launched! – September 2014
At last, 4 years & we get to this press release and a live tool, for Si’s new bus route explorer for finding direct services and looking at their routes and stops in Google Maps and Streetview. Will this set Greater Manchester a light, a backlash or little on-going interest? Lets see what the web analytics show up.
Bus Finder – reviewed August 2014
Traveline – reviewedJuly 2014
With the demise of Transport Direct and rise of the Traveline consortium led by the South East, this organisation, which is set up to receive journey queries (again mostly around bus…) across the UK, has an adequate journey planner…but will people be bothered with this compared to the new public transport options on Google Maps?
GoogleMaps – reviewed May 2014
Many people might have noticed the ‘Directions’ and Public Transport tab in the latest Google Maps? This undoubtly trumps others in terms of customer reach…and achieves what Transport Direct was meant to achieve – get people thinking about alternatives to car travel…
HERE Transit – reviewed March 2014
Very impressive app for Windows Phone; unlike Google Transit; does not require UK authorities to do become Google Transit Partners. Works through the Traveline set-up. Excellent.
Transport Direct – reviewed January 2014
This is to encourage folk like us to link to their site for ‘multi-modal’ journey instructions; or put it more simply and pertinently, the availability bus directions, as we already have National Rail Planner for rail trips (but with no integration with bus services).
Unfortunately I don’t know anyone who uses this site !