Learning CityMapper for London

Yes, when you are at the location of your walk / bus / whatever, and push GO, you get detailed directions. I think Google Maps is a little easier to use, but I love Citymapper for the additional detail it gives, like what part of the train to sit in, or what exit to use at the tube station.

GoogleMaps is a bit easier in this regard as you can see the route and directions at home. Try it there Phil.

My wife and I will be traveling next week to the UK along with 3 full days in London. I just was introduced to CityMapper about one month ago and I find it the answer to my transportation needs. I found it to be easy and convenient, and it tells me exactly where, when and what tube to catch and/or walk. I think it will work better when we are actually in London.
I am not computer savey, and I really dont understand smart phones all that much. But using my smart phone with CityMapper, it was easy to use, I would suggest playing with it more.
It looks like when you are in London, you will get a map with the route displayed telling you which way to walk. At least it comes up for me when I enter a practice designation here at home, and of course, it can not track me walking, since I am not in London yet.
I think Googe Maps is great too, I'd try that as well and use which ever you like or think is easier for you.

bostonphil7, as I suggested in one of your other emails, try using Citymapper at home to get a better feel of how it works.

I believe you live in Austin. Go to settings and change the city to Austin. Select a destination nearby. When you choose GO you'll be live in Austin and you'll see the route with the street names.

It will all make more sense if your "live" in Austin and you the the street names, bus routes, etc...

I've tried CityMapper before but still prefer Google maps.
Regardless, glad to know you are practicing it for your trip.

I'm glad everything is coming together for your trip and you are getting comfortable with CityMapper. I know in other posts you mentioned you are used to using Google Maps. I will just say that I live here, and I use Google maps for everything. It's more than sufficient for you to get around easily, including on transport. So if you're not feeling comfortable learning a new app, the one you are already familiar with works here perfectly as well. I hope all goes well with your cataract recovery!

Thank you everyone.

Besides CityMapper, I also have Google Maps and TFL downloaded and installed.

I am pretty comfortable with Google Maps and TFL so I am trying to learn City Mapper because so many people on this forum rave about it or at least love it.

I am recovering so well from cataract surgery that I now see how gucky my shoes are and am in the process of washing them.

Seriously colors are now so rich and vibrant. I can not wait to go to the British Museum and try out my improved vision. And of course, I hope to visit St James Park as well.

jeanm

You did say something about practicing at home but I thought that you were referring to my practicing London while at home.

I see what you are saying. Problem is that i had problems changing from Austin to London. That is why I was leaving it on London,

But I understand what you are saying now. I need to practice Austin.

I am pretty comfortable with Google Maps and TFL so I am trying to learn City Mapper because so many people on this forum rave about it or at least love it.

I think if you're comfortable using GoogleMaps then you don't need to over complicate things with City Mapper. I exclusively use Google Maps and it works well. I'm not sure what, if any, value City Mapper has over Google Maps. I think it's just a preference thing.

Now TFL was very helpful for the tube, of course, especially with reporting closures in real time.

Congrats on the new eyes!

It's pretty easy to change your city in Citymapper.

• Open the Citymapper app on your iPhone
• Tap the settings icon
• Tap "City" and type in Austin

Now you're live in Austin. Choose a nearby place your familiar with, maybe a Starbucks or a Walgreens. And see the directions from your door to your destination.

Play with it a bit in Austin. If you are taking a bus anywhere in the next few weeks, use the app so you can follow the instructions on your phone. You'll see how the app tracks you and alerts you to your stop.

When you're ready to change back to London, just ask for help here if you need it.

Good luck!

Congrats on the cataract surgery! I had mine several years ago and was shocked by how bright and vibrant colors were! So surprising how very gradual and sneaky that aspect of vision loss is....

I use both. What I find annoying about Google maps is twofold. Sometimes what has been defined as a town is well beyond it so you have to fuss a bit to get it to route you to the actual town. I'm defaulting for asking for train stations now. Secondly, it seems to frequently not include or provide info on all forms of transit. In particular, for me, it likes to ignore buses. It's forced me to create weird routes to get someplace that in reality are not difficult. It is faster, though. It's where I start my planning.

Things I like about CityMapper (I pay for the $10/ subscription) are that you can get it to show you the actual full individual transit lines. It sometimes also has a full static transit map. I also like that you can get it to tell you when the next transit will appear even without a specified route. It's a bit of a fuss to get Google to reliably give up that info.
If you're used to Google, it does have a different methodology behind it. There is a learning curve. I tend to use Citymapper more once I'm local to a place if I really want to undertstand the transit system.

Ordinary Rebecca

I so agree with you. Had no idea how my vision had faded. Like you said, colors are so rich and vibrant.

and to everyone else

Thank you for your guidance.

Today I think I am going to experiment some more with Citymapper.

I am leaving in just over three weeks and do not feel as prepared as I usually do.

practiced Citymapper on my iPad. Changed city to Austin but I realize that I only have wi fi on my iPad so I have to practice using my iPhone when I go places.

Will be doing that this week

That is so lovely to hear about your improved vision! And you will appreciate the city even more. Good luck testing CityMapper.

Have used City Mapper (or whatever it is called) but MUCH prefer the TFL app. It shows all the intermediate stops, gives clear and accurate directions for transfers, and has live updated arrival times. I think it is clearly superior.

Cat VH and Volva

I like TFL and I like Google Maps also. But so many persons on this forum recommended Citymapper that I wanted to learn it.

I enjoy getting the opinions from forum about these three apps.

And yes, Cat VH, I am so enjoying seeing colors so vibrant and richer. I am looking forward to testing my improved eyes out at museums and parks.

Okay forum members. I know you all want to be helpful and encourage BostonPhil. That is wonderful! However, constantly suggesting additional apps is not necessarily helpful in practice. Of course, those other apps do work and some of you may prefer them. Great! However, if Boston Phil becomes proficient in using one app it will be wonderful.

CityMapper gives an advantage of being useful all around the world. Our BostonPhil is not about to stop traveling. This app will help her in both London and Reykjavik as well as any other major city she visits. Let her focus on it and build her confidence.

Carol N R

Yes, you are right Citymapper will be helpful in Reykjavik and other places around the world. That is a plus. It is a universal app.

But so is google maps, maybe?

And I am betting that almost everywhere I go will have their own transportation app similar to TFL.

But I do enjoy getting opinions as to why one person prefers such and such over such and such. I am like that with everything.

Going to London in just over three weeks. I am excited and feeling good about the trip.

So glad you're excited about your trip!
One suggestion. While you're still here at home,
spread out a good detailed paper map of London on your dining room table (or breakfast table) and study it for awhile.
A good time to do this is in the morning while you're drinking your coffee or tea.
Slowly study each area of London.
Get it in your mind how the river winds through London, where things are in relation to the river, and where the parks are.
It helps a great deal to do this several mornings in a row, getting familiar with neighborhoods.
Then when you zero in on an area using any app while in London, you will have a good idea of where that is.

Congratulations on your cataract surgery!
Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Sam321 what a brilliant suggestion! Love it. 😊

Hi Sam

Thank you for a great suggestion.

Nigel sent me a bus transportation map that shows the different neighborhoods very well. I think that I am going to print it out.

And I have purchased "London Travel Guide for Seniors" which includes many maps of the different neighborhoods.

However I am looking for an online interactive map showing the different neighborhoods that I can print out. Need large print.

I live in a very small affordable housing apartment. There is a living area and a kitchen area but no real kitchen or living room. No tables.

I am looking over the map that Nigel sent me and the maps in the guide book that I have purchased. It helps to see the whole picture as well as the individual neighborhoods.

EDITED TO ADD: Hoping that I did this right but I copied the map that Nigel sent me and now I am going to try and paste.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/key-bus-routes-in-central-london.pdf.

It is still possible (as in that it is still printed) to buy the London A-Z map book, you should be able to buy it on Amazon.
I would be surprised if you couldn't buy it on a bookstall in arrivals at Heathrow as well.
I've done that twice in the last week in Glasgow- use a paper A to Z. In fact today I used the big size paper map supplied by the Glasgow HoHo bus, of all things. I picked it up by chance and saw something I've never noticed before, and Glasgow is a city I know pretty well.
I was meant to be waking a Jewish trail and got totally diverted to something entirely different.

I wouldn’t use a paper map in London, not because it will make you a ‘target’ but because it will be unwieldy and a pain for you and the people around you.

I agree, if you want a paper map a London A to Z is a good idea. It’s what locals used before apps. I know I carried one for years in my handbag. The books come in different sizes. A pocket sized one would be enough for central London but you might want to size up slightly if you struggle with your eyes.

That said, don’t over think it. If you get stuck out and about just ask someone.

Thank you isn31c and Emma

You both are such big helps.

I am old fashioned and I still do things the old fashioned way like asking others for help.

I am thinking. a paper map could also get blown away if there is wind.

I also want to be careful because of mobility issues. I will be using a cane when I am walking outside so my hands will be busy. I need to be very careful and watch where I am walking. If I am looking at a phone or map, there is a possibility of losing my balance and falling.

But it looks like my friend who lives in Hinckley might meet me. She lived in London many years and knows London so hopefully she will walk me all over the place like she did last time..

I find that I have to use a combination of Apps. Citymapper, Google maps and TFL Go.
If I I to use just one, I find Google the best.
Hinckley is definitely not the North, it's the East Midlands.

briwire

Thank you

I had no idea where Hinckley was. But now I know, at least a little better

I was playing around with all three apps and Citymapper gave me an easy trip from British Museum to Victoria Coach Station. I know that i began with British Museum and can not quite recall what I ended with. I was just playing around and testing the three apps.

But I got directions to walk to Museum Rd and take either a bus 37 or 38 to Victoria Coach Station.

I can not remember if it was bus 37 or 38 but it was nice and easy.

I did not get similar directions from either google maps or TFL.

And I put in Victoria Coach Station to my hotel in all three apps. I get a very similar but different route. All are easy to follow but there must be different ways to walk to my hotel from Victoria Coach Station.

I hope Citymapper didn't tell you to catch bus 38 from Victoria Coach Station to the British Museum.

It should have told you to walk to Victoria Bus Station (outside Victoria Rail Station) and catch the 38 there (it starts at Victoria Bus Station).

In any event TfL would have given you the same route (I've just checked) by changing your preferences to 'Bus Only' and 'Fewest Changes'. That would have just given you the 38 running every 7 or 8 minutes.

This is when the difference between bus and coach becomes important.

I know instantly without looking that it isn't the 37 as that is a local route in South West London.

isn31c

I put in British Museum as a beginning and as an ending, I think that i put in Victoria Coach Station or so I think.

I do remember very clearly that I was told to walk to Museum Road and pick up a bus which I think was either the 37 or 38. You tell me that it is the 38.

I thought that it took me to Victoria Coach Station but maybe it said Victoria Bus Station. I would not have known the difference at the time.

What I clearly remember is that it seemed relatively easy to get from The British Museum to Victoria ??? and from there I could walk to my hotel.

So Victoria Coach Station and Victoria Bus Station are not one and the same????

No they are not the same. Victoria bus station has local buses that will get you to different parts of London. It is right outside the main facade of the train station, you can see the red buses on Google maps.

Victoria coach station is almost half a mile the other side of Victoria train station. Victoria Coach Station will take you to all corners of the UK and mainland Europe.

Perhaps I've missed something in the thread, but Victoria is a busy travel hub, not a particularly exciting place to stay.

Victoria actually has 4 bus terminals- the Coach Station, the Green Line coach terminal (across the street from the National Express Coach Station- used by Rabbies and some coach services to Europe), Buckingham Palace Road (on street stops for the Oxford tube bus, the bus to Windsor/Reading/Legoland, commuter buses and the Green Line bus to Luton Airport), and Victoria Bus Station (for TfL bus services).

The Green Line terminal is now mainly used as a bus parking lot, and is not the pleasantest of places- safe, but rather barren and full of traffic fumes.

Having played around this morning with citymapper, they call the Coach Station Victoria Bus Terminal, the Green Line terminal Rabbies departure point and to get the TfL bus station just put in Victoria Station. A trifle confusing, and not the best descriptors IMO.

I've actually just asked Citymapper for Victoria Coach Station to the British Museum, and it says to walk to Grosvenor Gardens and catch the 38 there. That isn't wrong, as Grosvenor Gardens is the first stop on leaving Victoria Bus Station. However it is only fractionally further to walk into the Bus Station, and I would rather join at the start of the route to get myself a good seat for the ride.

When you are in London, you are usually going to be starting or ending at your hotel. When you practice with citymapper (or googlemaps), don’t worry about which station to choose. Instead, put the Premier Inn Victoria as your starting point. Either app will include the walking route from your hotel to the bus stop or station. When you are actually in London, you will typically just use your current location as the starting point.

It may be helpful to remember that in the US, most people use the term ”bus” for both a coach and a bus. In the UK, a bus is the thing you take in the city that stops frequently. A coach is the thing you take long distances; it has luggage compartments, steps to get on board, and generally more comfortable seating.

so Victoria Coach Station is primarily coaches that go long distances. No local buses leave or return to Victoria Coach Station?? But I will be taking the coach from Heathrow to Victoria Coach, right?

If I want to take a local bus, I will be going to Victoria Bus Station which is outside of Victoria Train Station.

isn31c

Agreed. I would rather walk to Victoria Train Station and catch the 38 bus there. I want to get familiar with Victoria Train Station because there seems to be so much activity there including visitor information and hop on hop off buses.

OliviaHoughton

It is a long story how I ended up at PI Victoria but some forum members did suggest the area as well as the hotel.

I am going to be there in less than three weeks so I have no interest in changing now. Plus a friend from Hinckley has rented a room very close to mine.

Laura

Thank you for clearing up my confusion.

When you practice with citymapper (or googlemaps), don’t worry about
which station to choose. Instead, put the Premier Inn Victoria as your
starting point. Either app will include the walking route from your
hotel to the bus stop or station.

Ditto this. As others have already suggested, this is why practicing at home in Austin will help you learn how the apps work and orient you based on where you are at the time. There is no need to spin wheels on figuring out the various things in the Victoria Station area, either app will guide you turn by turn. If you don't have time to practice and get comfortable with phone navigation tools before you leave, don't stress on it. You've been to London before and managed to get around without them.

Perhaps I've missed something in the thread, but Victoria is a busy travel hub, not a particularly exciting place to stay.

Olivia, I stayed in Victoria at The Resident Victoria hotel when I was there in 2024 with two of my grandkids (my 4th trip there) and really liked the location where we were (as did my grandkids). I agree that it's a busy travel hub, but in a way, that's good because most of us who come to London to visit are looking to travel to the various sites. Being close to public transportation is a big plus. 😊

I want to save you surprise when you get to Victoria Bus Station.

If you don't have a clear plan as you arrive you can become confused. It is not a covered building, just row after row of bus stops in the middle of a wide bit in front of the train station, with several buses stopping nearby and not in the bus station itself... Well signed when you know where to look, but a lot of information to digest.

Every bus stop has a little sign (big ones at Victoria Bus Station) on the top of the post with a letter designation, usually two letters (mostly one letter at Victoria Bus Station). Find which stop your bus uses and look for that bus stop sign. There are a lot of buses, and many of them are moving often side by side. You need to use the walkways and zebra crossings. Be very very careful.

A couple of Google pictures which might help.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT0-KeP7ooC275c51C3y6j38kU3a17IJbU4TFOhxXraUQ&s=10

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS2BRhrJmTdrtDWWU4BCLtFu_dbWiwHQ9FCATrxTbUc2A&s=10

I hesitate to post these in case it adds to any confusion but these links might help?

This link takes you to a portal where you can bring up local bus maps showing routes through an area, stops etc.
You can search by route or area
https://tfl.gov.uk/maps_/bus-spider-maps

The next is the graphic design standard for TFL. It is the best best I can find to show a clear explanation of bus stop design .
You can ignore most of it.

The pages you might find useful are:

Page 7&8 - Order of display - This shows the various information you will find on a bus sign.

Page 16 - Contracted place names - How place names are shortened when displayed on signs.

Page 25&26&32- Point Letters - The red round stop letter identifiers usually displayed at the top of a bus stop sign. These letters are also used on maps to show the location of stops.

P33 - Tour Bus Stops - Basically the same as a normal bus stop but with tour company names added

P36&41 - Coach Stops - as above but for Coaches.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/buses-bus-stop-graphics-standard-issue02.pdf

My biggest problem with Citymapper is that it doesn't cover a lot of places. In fact, on my next trip to Scotland, it doesn't cover any place I'm going to. I guess I don't see the point in learning how to use it when Google Maps will work just as well for me and works in many more places than Citymapper.

BP, if you do decide to get an A-to-Z map book, make sure you ask for the "A to Zed" book, which is how Z is pronounced. I'm sure they'll know what you're saying, but it's more fun to use the proper British pronunciation. 😊

CL

I hope that I remember to practice in Austin.

I do not go somewhere every day but I might be going to an art event Friday evening, weather permitting, and hope I remember to practice getting there.

Next week, I have two medical appts and hope to remember to practice how to get there. One medical appointment is for an injection in my knee which is most definitely travel related and the other is for my Covid / Flu Vaccine.

Glad I read your post because it is a reminder to practice.

Nigel, Emma and Mardee

Thank you for your input.

So much to learn about the bus system in London.

I watched a very good youtube video about Victoria Train Station last month and I noticed a sign pointing somewhere that said buses.

Of course, I have since learned that those are the buses outside of Victoria Train Station.

Now I have learned that coaches are coaches and buses are buses. They are not one and the same.

Today, I "bought" two tickets to the British Museum and I have learned how to walk to Tate Britain from my hotel. It is not very far and is probably. a nice walk.