Citymapper are reinventing the bus for the ‘smart city’. The app company, which suggests public transport routes in 40 cities, are trailling an updated bus system, codename: Project Grasshopper.
For today and tomorrow Citymapper is launching a ‘pop-up bus route’ in Central London. The circular route, CMX1, the starts at Southwark running in a loop to Blackfriars, Somerset house, Waterloo bridge, and along the south bank.
These aren’t your typical red London buses; they’re the app’s characteristic green, and they’re much smaller, with only 30 seats. The interiors are getting a makeover too, with display screens showing route information, seats with USB charging points and tablets for the drivers, monitoring traffic conditions, passenger numbers and vehicle spacing. The buses are also fully integrated with the Citymapper app, which predicts their frequency, arrival times and are combined with existing TFL networks to form part of longer routes.
For now, the buses use existing bus stops and fixed routes, however Citymapper’s future plans look towards a more flexible bus system. By developing an analysis tool (codename: Simcity) to evaluate existing transport connections the company have been able to identify underserved areas and real-time traffic situations. Currently TFL licencing does not allow for flexible bus routes, however in an interview with Wired, Citymapper’s CEO Azmat Yusef revealed the ultimate plan: buses that stop at regular points but adjust their routes in response to traffic conditions, and buses which adapt to demand.
There’s no word yet on the potential fares for these buses, although Yusef suggested that they would probably be in line with existing fares, or any prediction of when a Citymapper service might be available. If the CMX1 is successful, the company may trial a night route, following the popularity of the night tube. For now though, London can try out the future of buses for free.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.