Travelling in London
- Thread starter banja
- Start date
What does it do that google maps doesn't? I'm very much a noob to London having only been a few times but google maps has been fine for showing multiple tube routes, buses etc. If walking, I tend to aim in a general direction and I've been pretty good so far without getting lost. 
It's better integrated with the transport systems. Off the top of my head;
- You can set-up notifications for delays on tube lines (amazing for commuters)
- Show you live departure boards for tube and buses
- Shows you where to get on the train for quickest exit at your chosen station
- Has offline tube map integrated
- You can set-up notifications for delays on tube lines (amazing for commuters)
- Show you live departure boards for tube and buses
- Shows you where to get on the train for quickest exit at your chosen station
- Has offline tube map integrated
Also shows you the cost for each journey option.
You can set a notification to be woken up or alerted when you're at your stop (only works above ground though using location to detect when you're nearing destination station).
It also suggests faster routes by walking to another station rather than getting on at the one you may be by.
E.g say you are outside Bow Road station and want to go to Canary Wharf. That's a journey on the district line to West Ham, change for the jubilee and then to Canary Wharf. 16 minutes and then ballache of changing line.
Citymapper will say, don't be a plonker. Walk two minutes to Bow Church DLR and go straight there. 9 minutes.
Simple examples but there are even more than that which significantly differ.
Ace app. I use it every day even after living in London for over seven years (I have a lot of meetings).
E.g say you are outside Bow Road station and want to go to Canary Wharf. That's a journey on the district line to West Ham, change for the jubilee and then to Canary Wharf. 16 minutes and then ballache of changing line.
Citymapper will say, don't be a plonker. Walk two minutes to Bow Church DLR and go straight there. 9 minutes.
Simple examples but there are even more than that which significantly differ.
Ace app. I use it every day even after living in London for over seven years (I have a lot of meetings).
The only bit I don't like is how it tells you the thoroughly depressing amount of calories you can burn by walking, in real figures (e.g. a muffin, latte etc). Last tube strike I walked from Bank to the west end - a 40mins walk - and it was like a third of a beer 
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Another vote for city mapper, it's a lifesaver when you haven't got a clue where your going.
I had google maps fail on me a few days ago so I will try Citymapper next time. I was in chav-erspoons on Whitehall and I know from previous visits that the tube goes from Embankment to Victoria but google wouldn't show that option at all.
Even as a born and raised central Londoner, who is au fait with all subway lines, buses not so much, I occasionally check with TFL journey planner, sometimes just for train or journey times, (how long).
It's surprising how often, when you know for a cast iron certainty the simplest way from A to B, that TFL offers you a convoluted two to three changes option, when you know that's not necessary.
e.g. Rotherhithe Station to Winchmore Hill Station, Rotherhithe to Highbury & Islington via London Overground, switch to Great Northern, straight to Winchmore Hill, simple.
Yet TFL will often come up with Overground from Rotherhithe to Canada Water, then Jubilee to London Bridge, then Northern Line to Moorgate, then Great Northern to Winchmore Hill, or Rotherhithe - Canada Water - Green Park - Southgate - then W9 bus to Winchmore Hill, go figure.
Following all the advice I have now downloaded CityMapper.
Perhaps it needed to be updated.
Day was fun, and hot. Saw a few pubs, saw that big gaff the Queen owns. Only issue was trying to find Victoria Bus station in the dark after 5 pints. No one in London has a clue where anything is! In fact one old cabbie definitely sent me in the totally wrong direction. I bet he had a good laugh with his mates.
You probably were asking wannabe Londoners for directions, not real ones, and if the cab driver who sent you in the wrong direction was a black cab driver, he no doubt reasoned that if you were too cheap to get in and ask to be taken there, you were fair game for a wild goose chase.
I used to do it myself when I drove a black cab, but not to pedestrians, if a minicab carrying anxious looking passengers tooted me in traffic, and asked how to get to X theatre, I'd send him in the opposite direction.
Next time they were late for curtain up, maybe they'd use a real taxi, the driver would know how to get there.
Yeah the black cab driver was parked up and chatting with someone, out of his cab smoking. I would've expected if I'd flagged one over to ask for directions I'd probably get told to do one 
But I knew (and so did he) that I was literally a block away, not worth a cab ride, I just had no idea where it was and my phone data wasn't working. Found it though, with time to spare so all good.
Oh, another niggle - not all the tubes are signed on the actual platforms which is east or west, or north or south. At the first main station I was at they were signed via staircases, but in my last journey the tube station I had no way of seeing which platform was which. Nearly ended up going the wrong direction!
But I knew (and so did he) that I was literally a block away, not worth a cab ride, I just had no idea where it was and my phone data wasn't working. Found it though, with time to spare so all good.Oh, another niggle - not all the tubes are signed on the actual platforms which is east or west, or north or south. At the first main station I was at they were signed via staircases, but in my last journey the tube station I had no way of seeing which platform was which. Nearly ended up going the wrong direction!
Convinced by all the bigging up of Cityplanner, I downloaded the App.
Living in London, I KNOW the best subway lines to use to get anywhere, where to switch, etc., granted I'm not an habitual bus user, you can spend half an hour on those just going from Centre Point to Marble Arch along Oxford Street.
I put in some test trips, and it came up trumps every time, granted, I wasn't interested in walking times and stuff, but it gave the best methods of A to B.
Then today, my wife has to meet a friend at Kensington Olympia, we live in Rotherhithe, SE London, so we both knew that the best way was Bermondsey Station to Green Park on the Jubilee Line, Green Park to Earls Court on the Piccadilly Line, then Earls Court to Olympia on the District Line.
Just for kicks, she punched it in on CityMapper, it suggested Jubilee, Bermondsey to Bond Street, then Central Line, Bond Street to Shepherds Bush, then walk to Overground Line station, one stop to Kensington Olympia!
So although Citymapper is undoubtedly good, it's not infallible, I'll keep the App, but use it warily.
Yeah the black cab driver was parked up and chatting with someone, out of his cab smoking. I would've expected if I'd flagged one over to ask for directions I'd probably get told to do one
Oh, another niggle - not all the tubes are signed on the actual platforms which is east or west, or north or south. At the first main station I was at they were signed via staircases, but in my last journey the tube station I had no way of seeing which platform was which. Nearly ended up going the wrong direction!
Can't explain the cab driver's faux pas, perhaps he'd had a bad day, and took it out on you!
As for the lack of east, west etc., I usually look for things like Jubilee Line to Stratford, then I know it's going east, or District Line to Ealing, then I know it's going west, Northern Line to Archway, north, or Victoria Line to Brixton, south.
Of course, this only works if you've used the subway system since you were a kid.