Smart Rides in London

Smart Rides in London

Citymapper launches bus-taxi hybrid

The urban transport app Citymapper has launched an on-demand minibus service in London. It is like a cross between Uber and a traditional bus network that marks the latest attempt by a tech company to crash the capital’s transport market. The question is if Uber have taken control of the taxi market, could black cabs become the new buses?

Idea of a bus-taxi hybrid was explored by black-cab booking app Gett and urban travel planner Citymapper. They want to create a new fixed-route taxi service through London for a flat fare of £3, regardless of how long passengers travel along it. It is a tech brand reinvention of the many other forms of taxi share that already exist in cities around the world. Bus-taxi hybrid will only travel on pre-defined roads and passengers will be dropped off and picked up only at certain points. All journeys will be shared rather than catering to individuals. Idea is really good, but people who wants to go to a certain point will still use taxi or Uber. They are launching the service with a free trial in a small area of central London that includes Euston, St Paul’s and Blackfriars, but they are planning to expand the service soon.  Drivers will be self-employed and operate their own vehicles. They will be restricted to driving on a responsive network of assigned roads, but the app will direct them along routes that respond to demand, which will make easier for passengers to share rides. Broadly speaking shared transportation is the way to solve problems such as congestion and pollution. They are explaining that it’s a bit like a bus because it has stops, it’s a bit like a cab because you book it and it has guaranteed seats, and it’s a bit like a metro because it has a network of roads.

Citymapper raised money from investors including Benchmark Capital and Balderton. They have been experimenting with transport services and running experimental bus routes around London. The main problem is cooperation with public and private entities, because they must work together to maintain the mobility. London transport should be open to sharing data and welcoming newcomers. The company is running a fleet of eight-seater Mercedes Viano buses that will pick up and drop off passengers at fixed points on a road network, with a service called smart rides. The company plans to charge users for rides, and the vehicles will be on-demand, responding to orders placed by users on the Citymapper app, instead of travelling along fixed routes. The route will be chosen with the help of Citymapper’s data on the way people move through London and it will cut journey times. For example a journey between Upper Street and Somerset House is predicted to drop from an average of 40 minutes on existing public transport to 15 minutes. Their service will operate weekdays from 7am-10am and 5pm-8pm. Passengers can request a ride through the app at the nearest point to them and the average wait time is said to be less than five minutes.

Kaja & Bianca

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/feb/21/citymapper-launches-bus-taxi-hybrid-smart-ride-london-transit-app