"I think a great transport app is the most fundamental thing you can build on mobile," says Azmat Yusuf, 33, founder and CEO of London-based Citymapper. "It makes a real difference to people's lives." Citymapper was launched for iPhone in 2012 and Android in 2013 with funding from Connect and Index Ventures. It is now installed, according to Yusuf, "on half the smartphones in London", bringing together various open-data feeds to suggest real-time ways to get across the capital.
Tap "Get Me Somewhere" and you'll get bus, rail and tube options; taxi journey times; walking and cycling routes; hire-bike availability; a "rain-safe" option and a weather forecast. The real attraction, though, is the human-centred extras.
Walking and cycling routes show estimated calorie burn; public-transport options show accurate fares – and there are jokey options such as jet-pack, catapult and teleporter. "What makes us different is that we do the routing ourselves," he says. "Users email us about what is happening in the streets and we use OpenStreetMap for our walking routes."
Citymapper has also launched in New York and Yusuf says other cities are on his route map. But it won't be a case of one interface suits all: "How you get around a city is really core to its culture," says Yusuf. "I am fascinated by cities and I want to help people make the most of the one they live in."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
