Citymapper is nice, but I disagree that it's massively superior:
1- When I was living south of London, Citymapper was completely pointless, since it only showed commuting options with SouthWest trains, and not Southern trains (my station was served by both). I suspect Citymapper might've fixed this since.
2- Maps also gives you all different options, and since some time ago they also started to offer mixed ride-hailing and public transport (they appear to offer that only if your public transport station is far enough from you probably > ~15 minutes walk?)
3- The other features are not that useful: since you'd use a monthly travelcard or pay as you go on your oyster/bank card, the cost estimate is not really something that you have to worry about. If you're a cash-strapped student, you're probably just going to always opt for the bus to save one or two pounds compared to the tube... so, just picking Bus as your preferred mode of transport is enough to cover that use case.
4- Citymapper is/was also inferior to Google maps when you need to quickly check/compare a (different) train that you just managed to hop into if it's not shown in the UI (maybe because it was delayed, and so it was not shown among the options). With Google maps you could just amend the start time for your trip.
5- One really nice feature that Citymapper has is the instructions for which tube exit to use when you arrive at the destination. It really helps to diminish the "which side is north?" disorientation. Otoh, you don't get that unless you actually start the trip (if you only use Citymapper to browse the route options, for example). OTOH, Google maps has AR navigation, which covers the same use case (orient yourself when you do the last bit of your trip on foot)
6- Both Maps and Citymapper have alert notifications for when you should get out at your stop. I almost never use the feature though, because I missed my tube stop a couple of times due to Citymapper triggering their notification AFTER the stop was already past)
7- Both Maps and Citymapper have a way to share your trip with other people. Citymapper is nicer though, since you can see all of the people that shared a trip with you on the same map (nice when you're meeting with more than 1 other friend from different parts of London)
That said, I dislike monopolies, so when I'll travel around London again (after the end of the pandemic) I'm planning to try to use maps.me (which uses the OSM data) as my first option.
This is all your opinion. As someone that literally lives in Zone 2, I rely on Citymapper literally every day and in my actual experience as a Londoner, Citymapper beats Google every day. If Google were better, I'd use Google, but it's not.
Also, another major benefit of Citymapper over Google. Citymapper does a much better job of orienting you when walking. Google Maps seems to be slow, or maybe have UI issues when I'm trying to work out where I am and which direction I should be walking in. With Citymapper I never have an issue, it seems to use the IPhone compass functionality better than the Google Maps app.
The other major, major issue with Google, is the Directions UI on phone just seems half baked, like it was an after-thought. It has never felt nice to use and I'm often struggling trying to work out how to make it do what I want. I struggled when I first moved to London getting around until a co-worker advised I use CityMapper and then I never went back, it actually made me travel around London more because I felt so much more comfortable with how to get around.
E.g. On my phone I just tried to make Google show me a route from my home to a pharmacy in central London. The result: "Can't find a way there."
Google Maps can't, at least on my phone (11 pro) with the latest version, show me routes involving buses AND trains. It only shows me trains and not buses. If there is a way to make it show both it doesn't make it obvious.
In Google Maps I can only click on one option, walking, trains, car, etc. There is no option to just show me all methods and then compare them. This is one of the things CityMapper does incredibly well, it shows you every option possible and does so in a very nice presentation. Google Maps assumed you already know which SINGLE method of transportation you want to use and you have to choose it to begin with, which in my opinion is a poor way of handling this situation.
> 1- When I was living south of London, Citymapper was completely pointless
Agreed. Citymapper is only good when you’re in a city. When you’re not in a city / travelling outside the city, the experience is subpar.
Fortunately the clue’s in the name. Like the OP (and sibling), living in zone 2 and rarely venturing outside of my z1-2 bubble, nothing comes close to Citymapper.
When I do venture out, I’ve now switched to Apple Maps, as I’m typically driving. Voice notifications are intrusive to music & audiobooks, and having to regularly look at the screen is distracting and dangerous. Apple’s restrictive APIs for the Apple watch means it’s the only mapping platform that can give me haptic feedback when it’s time to turn, and that’s extremely valuable driving in and out of London.
1- When I was living south of London, Citymapper was completely pointless, since it only showed commuting options with SouthWest trains, and not Southern trains (my station was served by both). I suspect Citymapper might've fixed this since.
2- Maps also gives you all different options, and since some time ago they also started to offer mixed ride-hailing and public transport (they appear to offer that only if your public transport station is far enough from you probably > ~15 minutes walk?)
3- The other features are not that useful: since you'd use a monthly travelcard or pay as you go on your oyster/bank card, the cost estimate is not really something that you have to worry about. If you're a cash-strapped student, you're probably just going to always opt for the bus to save one or two pounds compared to the tube... so, just picking Bus as your preferred mode of transport is enough to cover that use case.
4- Citymapper is/was also inferior to Google maps when you need to quickly check/compare a (different) train that you just managed to hop into if it's not shown in the UI (maybe because it was delayed, and so it was not shown among the options). With Google maps you could just amend the start time for your trip.
5- One really nice feature that Citymapper has is the instructions for which tube exit to use when you arrive at the destination. It really helps to diminish the "which side is north?" disorientation. Otoh, you don't get that unless you actually start the trip (if you only use Citymapper to browse the route options, for example). OTOH, Google maps has AR navigation, which covers the same use case (orient yourself when you do the last bit of your trip on foot)
6- Both Maps and Citymapper have alert notifications for when you should get out at your stop. I almost never use the feature though, because I missed my tube stop a couple of times due to Citymapper triggering their notification AFTER the stop was already past)
7- Both Maps and Citymapper have a way to share your trip with other people. Citymapper is nicer though, since you can see all of the people that shared a trip with you on the same map (nice when you're meeting with more than 1 other friend from different parts of London)
That said, I dislike monopolies, so when I'll travel around London again (after the end of the pandemic) I'm planning to try to use maps.me (which uses the OSM data) as my first option.