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Post by snoggle on Sept 23, 2017 10:09:46 GMT
Yep those naughty Citymapper people have teamed with black cabs to create BB1 - a Black Bus route from Highbury to Waterloo running in the peaks only. Shared cabs for a fixed fare of £3. Board and alight anywhere en route. Starts 25/9/17. Interesting timing given Uber's apparent woes. Article |
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Post by Gellico on Sept 23, 2017 10:33:38 GMT
People kept saying the black trade needs to innovate, well this is it so don't complain. Cab sharing generally isn't that popular as people get into a cab to have a journey by themselves.
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Post by vjaska on Sept 23, 2017 11:16:42 GMT
People kept saying the black trade needs to innovate, well this is it so don't complain. Cab sharing generally isn't that popular as people get into a cab to have a journey by themselves. I'd rather the black cab trade evaporate instead... |
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Post by redexpress on Sept 23, 2017 11:26:29 GMT
Yep those naughty Citymapper people have teamed with black cabs to create BB1 - a Black Bus route from Highbury to Waterloo running in the peaks only. Shared cabs for a fixed fare of £3. Board and alight anywhere en route. Starts 25/9/17. Interesting timing given Uber's apparent woes. Article They might as well call it the 4A. It's an interesting idea but why have they chosen to more-or-less parallel an existing bus route? Granted the route isn't exactly the same, but the catchment area is similar. Oddly they claim that to do this journey by public transport would require "3 buses or tubes". You what? You'd think Citymapper, of all people, would know better than that  For a company that's supposedly pro-public transport, it's odd that they suddenly start to compete with the existing bus network instead of trying to complement it. The CM2 does a good job of filling a gap in the existing network; I'm sure they could have come up with something similar for this black cab route. That said, the graphic showing several large green passengers squeezed into a cab like sardines doesn't look particularly appealing, so I think I'll stick to the 4, thank you very much. |
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Post by busman on Sept 25, 2017 7:56:23 GMT
That 3 buses or tubes bit is nonsense, but overall this seems like a great way to make use of the spare capacity in existing cars on the road. I can understand why some people wouldn’t want to use a bus in the rush hour or fight for a standing space on the tube. I think Citymapper are on to something here. Luggage space and guaranteed seat for £3 seems like a good deal. Plus Taxis can take the fastest possible route avoiding traffic jams.
CityMapper are a good example of how disruptive innovation doesn’t mean having a flagrant disregard for existing laws. Their approach to working with TfL and existing transport infrastructure is to be applauded. Buses will have to up their game in London to be transport of choice in London.
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Post by busman on Sept 25, 2017 8:56:12 GMT
Just had a look at the service within the CityMapper app and the integration of BB1 isn’t quite there yet. When doing a journey planner search from Waterloo IMAX to Highbury & Islington station, BB1 doesn’t show up in my travel options. The normal Taxi fare and time is displayed To book, I need to search for BB1 then go into the Gett app. The journey takes 26mins by tube, but surprisingly only 22 mins by Uber/taxi. I couldn’t find estimated timing based on a BB1 ride.
One thing that did annoy me slightly was that stations are deliberately omitted from the BB1 route map.
Early days though.
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Post by stuckonthe486 on Sept 25, 2017 17:29:08 GMT
Seems an odd choice of route when they could get more heading to/from zone 2 tube hubs such as North Greenwich, Brixton or Finsbury Park. (That said, it'll do a good trade tonight with Arsenal at home...)
Interesting idea, though.
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Post by vjaska on Sept 25, 2017 18:01:19 GMT
Seems an odd choice of route when they could get more heading to/from zone 2 tube hubs such as North Greenwich, Brixton or Finsbury Park. (That said, it'll do a good trade tonight with Arsenal at home...) Interesting idea, though. I don't see how it would work in Brixton? |
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Post by stuckonthe486 on Sept 26, 2017 13:24:04 GMT
Seems an odd choice of route when they could get more heading to/from zone 2 tube hubs such as North Greenwich, Brixton or Finsbury Park. (That said, it'll do a good trade tonight with Arsenal at home...) Interesting idea, though. I don't see how it would work in Brixton? A lot of users of Brixton station users come in from elsewhere by bus, as they do at Finsbury Park and North Greenwich. Granted, picking up at Brixton would be harder, though. |
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Post by joefrombow on Sept 29, 2017 6:01:19 GMT
Anyone had a ride or seen how BB1 is getting on ? Very innovative idea .
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They might as well call it the 4A. It's an interesting idea but why have they chosen to more-or-less parallel an existing bus route? Granted the route isn't exactly the same, but the catchment area is similar. Oddly they claim that to do this journey by public transport would require "3 buses or tubes". You what? You'd think Citymapper, of all people, would know better than that 
