Citymapper is a powerful navigation app comparable to thebest navigation apps for Android. It’s only available in select cities, but it offers an astonishing amount of detail for navigating these cities, including up-to-date transport information, ride-share costs, maps, and more. It’s easy to open the app, create a route, and use the app’s most powerful features. We rounded up the best tips and tricks for using the Citymapper app. These help you navigate cities safely, quickly, and reliably. Citymapper is available on Android, iOS, and smartwatches, so grab one of ourfavorite budget smartwatchesto navigate from your wrist.
Google Maps vs. Citymapper: Which navigation app takes the win?
What’s best for getting from A to B?
1Share your location
Whether you’re traveling to meet a friend or concerned about your safety, sharing your location lets your friends and family know where you are at all times during your journey. You can also share your destination, start point, or directions if someone is checking your route. Here’s how:
2Save journeys offline
Citymapper is best when connected to the internet, but it’s always best to be prepared even in an area with a reliable data connection. Downloading your journeys offline saves map data, public transport times, and other relevant information. Saving a journey offline adds it to theSaved Tripslist, so you can easily access it later.
You can access your saved trips by heading to the home screen and scrolling down to theSaved Tripsheading.
Google Maps vs. Waze
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3Find electric scooters and bikes
Citymapper is best known for its public transport features. It also has built-in support for local e-scooters and bikes. The app shows the location of these vehicles, estimated range, and battery percentage. Citymapper provides a download link for the relevant app if one is available.
You can zoom in to areas on the map to find bikes or scooters or tap theCycleorKick Scooteroption from the home screen.
4Stick to well-lit streets at night
After dark, it’s safest to travel on well-lit main roads, but most mapping apps don’t differentiate between these and side or unlit roads. When selecting a walking route, you can choose the fastest route or the route that stays on the main roads.
If the option forMain Roadsdoesn’t appear, there aren’t any main roads along the route or the fastest route uses main roads.
Citymapper assumes that main roads are better lit, but it does not have access to real-time street lighting information. Citymapper cannot guarantee your safety on these routes.
5Use the GO feature regularly to see useful data
After creating a journey, you’ll see a GO button in the lower-right corner of the route preview. This feature works similarly to most mapping apps, providing real-time information about your journey as you travel. However, it records information about your trip, including an estimate of how much CO2, calories, and money you saved compared to driving in a city. It also breaks down your travel by method and service.
These statistics are recorded on a city-by-city basis. you’re able to only see your statistics for one city at a time.
6Check transport news about your city
Events like strikes can disrupt your commute. Citymapper compensates for these strikes by creating quick guides about them, including information on service impacts, alternative transport routes, links to relevant transport authorities, and important dates. This doesn’t affect how you use the app. Citymapper automatically compensates for strikes when providing you with routes.
7Save your commute to receive important notifications
After saving your home and work addresses, you can access commute options by scrolling down on the home screen. These are automatically generated, and you can add and remove options and activate notifications. Notifications remind you when to leave so that you make your commute on time. You can set when you want the notification to appear, along with your work start and end times.
you may only receive notifications for one commute at a time. Change your top commute by tapping the redXbutton next to a commute to remove it from the list. You cannot drag and drop commutes to reorder them.
8Install Citymapper on your smartwatch
Citymapper is available on WearOS smartwatches and Apple Watch. You can access your commute directly from your watch. Directions from a GO trip started on your phone also appear on your smartwatch, including estimated departure times for public transport and reminders for when to get off buses and trains.
Citymapper is a powerful tool when navigating new cities
Finding your way around a new city can be confusing. Citymapper provides all the information you need to get from A to B. If you travel extensively, don’t get caught with your battery empty. Pick up aportable power bankfor your pocket.
