Introducing the Citymapper Smartbus

In coordination with Transport for London (TfL), which released open data for the project, Citymapper is testing a Smartbus service for London, which it says could reinvent the bus and improve mobility in congested cities. Starting on 9 and 10 May and running on an experimental route around Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge, Smartbus uses a smaller vehicle, which Citymapper believes is necessary in crowded cities. It runs on a fixed route and uses bus stops. The bus has a smart display to inform passengers wh
May 9, 2017 Read time: 1 min
In coordination with 1466 Transport for London (TfL), which released open data for the project, Citymapper is testing a Smartbus service for London, which it says could reinvent the bus and improve mobility in congested cities.


Starting on 9 and 10 May and running on an experimental route around Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge, Smartbus uses a smaller vehicle, which Citymapper believes is necessary in crowded cities. It runs on a fixed route and uses bus stops.

The bus has a smart display to inform passengers where they are and what the next stop is, along with USB charging for smartphones and tracking software for real time integration with the app, passenger counting and a driver app. Citymapper has also developed software which integrates real-time operational control with driver management and scheduling systems.

Related Content

  • Columbia goes intermodal to support sustainability
    April 10, 2014
    David Crawford on the ups and downs of a Latin metropolis. Medellín, Colombia’s second city and a recognised leader in sustainable transport thinking, is rapidly extending its substantial existing investment in modern mobility. It is deploying both an enhanced integrated traffic management array and the country’s first intermodal public transportation management system. The supplier of both, under separate €9 million (US$12.3 million) contracts, is Spanish engineering company Indra, a major exporter
    Read More
  • TfL trials new digital bus stop display sign
    October 17, 2016
    Transport for London (TfL) is trialling a new battery-powered bus stop display screen which will for the first time provide real time travel information on other bus services as well as its own. The first trial is being conducted at a bus stop at Northwood Station, Hillingdon and will give customers travelling to and from Mount Vernon Hospital all the latest travel information that they need. The new screens can be quickly and easily attached to bus stop posts and display next bus arrival information
    Read More
  • Contactless payments introduced on London's buses
    December 14, 2012
    Bus passengers in London can now use their use their contactless debit, credit or charge card to touch in on the yellow Oyster card readers and pay the single Oyster fare on any of London's 8,500 buses. Introducing the scheme, Transport for London (TfL) says the new payment option will also be good news for the approximately 36,000 people per day who board a bus and find they have insufficient pay as you go balance on their Oyster to pay for their journey as they will be able to use the other card they may
    Read More
  • Conscience versus convenience
    June 8, 2015
    David Crawford looks at new ways forward for public transport. By 2025, nearly 60% of the world’s population will be living in towns and cities, increasing their extent and density, and the journeys that people make within and between them. In response, the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) wants to see public transport’s global modal share doubling (PTx2) by the same date. “Success in 2025,” a spokesperson told ITS International, “will save 170 million tonnes of oil equivalent and 550
    Read More

Highlighted Content