Citymapper, a transit app, announced a prepaid card called Citymapper Pass for users based in London. This new product is both a subscription service to aggregate all your transportation subscriptions and a plastic card to pay for your rides. The card will also be compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay for ease of use.
There will be 2 weekly subscription packages users can choose from. For £30 per week, you’ll get full access to zone 1 and 2 on TfL’s network. For an additional £10 per week, you’ll also get unlimited Santander bike rides and two rides using Citymapper’s ride-sharing service.
At the moment, Citymapper isn’t doinganything revolutionary to the way the world is traveling via public transportation. Eventually, the startup wants to add more transport methods, from dockless bikes to e-scooters and other private networks. But this is going to be a bit more complicated as the startup needs to sign a deal with each company. You could imagine creating a custom package with your favorite transportation methods and pay once for all services. More interestingly, the plastic card is a good old prepaid card. You can top up your balance and use the card however you like.
As urban mobility becomes more fragmented, Citymapper wants to act as an aggregator. Many people already rely on the app to calculate itineraries. But the startup now wants to go beyond mapping. It could be a way to monetize the service as well.
Source:
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/20/18233034/citymapper-pass-london-launch-subscription-service
I was kind of surprised that TFL didn’t make more out of the Oyster Card system like Suica and Octopus in Tokyo and Hong Kong respectively… UK is strong a banking nation. Also using Apple Pay is a mess… if you don’t tap in and out on the same device you are charged a penalty fare and you’re charged twice… not sure why that didn’t create an Oyster charge card and allowed users to add that to Apple Pay so it would simplify multidevice support, this will interm allow commuters to buy yearly discounted tickets and use any money on the account to purchase items in convenience stores or vending machines.
You mention a good point of dock-less bikes and electric scooters becoming compatible with this app. When I went to Washington D.C. a couple weeks ago, I was able to see tourists riding more electronic scooters than bikes, including my own self. I do like the idea of aggregating all of my subway or transit cards into one application or card where it is centrally located. I wonder if this will extend internationally, such as airplanes or transcontinental trains?