The best way to see any city is on foot. The cheapest way to see it is by public transport. The most expensive way to check out the sights is by taxi. Travel app
Citymapper, now updated to version 5.01, shows you the best routes for all three, and does so very well. Mind you, it's useless if you aren't going to one of the cities it includes.
That list of cities is growing, however, and in fact if you try the app outside its existing regions, it will ask you to suggest an addition. This will never be the handiest thing when you're lost in a city, but at least the company is looking to add the most popular destinations as voted for by us, the users.
At time of writing, the app includes 17 cities, ranging across the US and Europe with LA, New York, Paris, London and more. If you are in one of those or you are travelling to them, Citymapper is excellent.
You do need two things for a public transit app to be excellent, and one is the data. Apps are reliant on their data sources, and these can be extremely variable. In our testing, Citymapper got details right, but over time we've had bad experiences with practically every public transit app we've tried. Hopefully this is why the app is taking time to roll out across more cities: it is securing the best data.
The other thing you need, though, is a really clear and obvious way to use the app. You're in a city, you're in a hurry, if you have to read the online help, then you'll miss your train.
With Citymapper, you can type in your start and destination, or you can drag around a map of the city. That map-dragging is fast and rather appealing, though it's better on the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus with their larger screens. As you drag, the app adds a crows-flight straight line between the places and as soon as you let go, it calculates the route.
Or rather, it works out routes: this is where it shows you bus, train, foot and taxi. Give Citymapper a round of applause: its taxi listing includes the typical price for that distance – and it does so in the local currency. If you need the convenience and speed of a taxi, this info is a real benefit.
Distressingly, it also tells you approximately how many calories you'll burn off if you walk. Let's just gloss over that.
We'll also gloss over the Jet Pack option: "This is how long it will take you in the future." It's a bit of whimsy in a serious app, but at least it's so far down the list of possible routes that you won't notice it without a deliberate search.
Citymapper 5.01 requires iOS 7.0 or later, and
costs nothing on the App Store. Nothing at all. Not a bean. Run to grab this app even if it hasn't got your city yet, because your place will come -- and the app will someday surely cost some cash. Note that it is solely an iPhone app; there isn't an iPad native version.
Who is Citymapper 5.01 for:
Busy, hurried, harried travellers in select cities across the world.
Who is Citymapper 5.01 not for:
Do you get driven around like a flashy executive? You're probably fine without this.
-- William Gallagher (
@WGallagher)
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