Navigating a big city for the first time can be a daunting task, especially when there are many public transportation and transit options available, but not quite enough signage. Throw peak-hour crowds and language barrier into the mix, and that’s another layer of anxiety or stress to manage.
Citymapper looks to streamline the process by combining buses, trains, trams, ferries, subways, taxis, ride- and bike-shares, e-scooters, and walking into an intuitive, user-friendly interface. An alternative to Google Maps and Apple Maps, it’s best suited for well-connected, metropolitan cities such as Singapore, requiring only two taps to show a summary of every route from point A to B. In other words, users won’t have to manually input different legs of their journey, with filter options allowing them to choose the preferred method for getting around — whether it’s step-free access, minimal walking, or the fastest path.
Unlike its contemporaries, the free-to-use app also displays additional information for each travel method, such as transit fares, ferry routes and departure times for those residing in a waterside city, the best street entrances and exits at a station, e-scooter charge levels, calories and money saved, and more. The Maps panel, meanwhile, makes planning easier by offering an all-in-one look at official public transport maps, from the straightforward blueprint of Hong Kong’s MTR line to the more complex subway tangle of New York, London, and Japan.
Other notable features include real-time tracking and live wait times, integrated ticketing for purchasing single, day, and weekly passes directly in the app, syncing the user’s calendar to Citymapper, and customisability. Find the default blue dot boring? Head into the app settings and change the icon for your map location to any emoji listed — the same works for the app icon. Not all of them are available across the board, however, so cyclists in some territories will be able to check bike availability, spaces for docking near their destination, and the walking involved, while others cannot.
Citymapper can be downloaded for free on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, but it also offers a premium option. The app covers hundreds of cities globally, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo (Beta), and Taiwan within Asia, though coverage varies by region.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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