(Yes, really originally it was Project Caterpillar.) In a Medium post, it promised “a smarter bus service”, adding: The route isn’t charging fares, in part so as to avoid difficult questions about licensing but the transport authority is nonetheless allowing the buses to use its stops, and the occasional presence of TfL staff on the bus suggest that they’re as keen to find out what CityMapper has learned as the firm itself is.Īnd the tech firm seems very excited, to the point of having given the scheme a codename, Project Grasshopper. The new bus has, if not the active involvement of Transport for London (TfL), then at least its passive support.

The service is running all day Tuesday and Wednesday, ferrying passengers clockwise around a loop that takes in Blackfriars Bridge, Fleet Street, Waterloo Bridge and the South Bank. So far, alas, you can only request the bus stop the old fashioned way.Īs well as the driver, each CMX1 is manned by two CityMapper staff, who discuss the project with passengers, hand out CityMapper badges and generally seem to be having a good time.

And obviously, it appears in the CityMapper app, where it’s also being promoted. There’s an electronic information board, which flicks between maps and lists of upcoming stops with estimated arrival times and information on the bus itself (our driver today is Piotr). On board, you can use USB chargers to charge your phone, if you feel the need. It’s also, at least, relatively, green in another sense: not electric, but it does at least meet low emissions standards. For another it’s smaller – just a minibus. For one thing it’s bright green, in CityMapper’s corporate colours.

Citymapper smartbus