Public transportation for UK is difficult to figure out at first. Covid19 Pandemic has not made things easy either, but with the help of smartphone Apps you can make your way easily.
These useful travel apps for UK can significantly reduce stress and allow you to plan better. Before I managed to bring some sanity into my life, I had missed many buses and worse stood on the wrong train platform.
I managed to bring the ridiculousness in my life down due to a collection of some useful travel apps designed for UK bus, train, underground, light rail and ferry.
Here is my list of must have UK travel apps for iPhone and Android.
Useful Travel Apps for UK
Journey Planner
If you are ok with a slightly slower app then get National Rail Enquiries, the free version is as good as any and gives you all the information you need to make the next train and plan your journey wisely.
Trip It
TripIt is a website where you signup and it monitors your email account for any travel bookings or confirmation emails.
Supporting the fantastic web service, there is an equally good app that keeps all your travel itinerary in check. From alerts on flight and gate changes to notifications in fare and keeping track of your club points and miles, this is a must have app for those who travel a lot.
There is a Pro membership for the additional features (club points, notifications and alerts) that costs $49/yr and is deemed to be worthy because most frequent travellers get notified of the fare change and save money on flights.
CheckMyTrip
This is a very good website and app available for free and is given by Amadeus the largest provider serving the travel and tourism industry.
All you need to do is enter your reservation and last name for each trip and it does the rest. Notifications on flight and gate changes, time between flights, terminal maps, last check-in, online check-in, weather etc.
Interestingly, I used both CheckMyTrip and TripIt Pro – running a trial subscription – for the same trip and found CheckMyTrip more useful and easier to use.
Tube Map
Tube Map links in data from Bus London (giving you a list of nearby stops), myTrains (giving you access to live travel information in London), tripadvisor (for local reviews and advice) and Oyster services for remaining balance on your Oyster Card. You also get alerts on line delays and easily plan a journey though do not expect any functionality like the railway apps.
The feature I use the most in this app is its Tube Map (which is absolutely great to plan my journey) and Oyster balance check.
Bus Routes
London Bus Live Countdown
London Bus Live actually saves money for the impatient and the weary by giving away the next bus information for free (data charges may apply) instead of paid text alerts.
You can locate your nearest stops via the GPS / 3G location service, save stops as favorites and keep a check on bus numbers headed for each stop. One of the most extremely useful travel apps for a UK person.
Citymapper – London Transport Live
The Citymapper application is relatively new and is available on the App Store (iPhone) only. You enter the postcode of your destination and choose your travel options (walk, cycle, bus, tube, cabs or combination).
This app is useful for one thing only, preventing you from opening multiple apps for each individual mode of travel. Once you get an idea of what your travel options are you can easily use the relevant app (bus, train, tube) to choose your best option.
Area Information for Muslims & Everyone
Google Maps
Google Maps helps you anywhere in the world.
Apart for giving real time ETAs, traffic conditions, and directions for set destinations, you can even find a hair salon in your area, take out, petrol station, grocery store, you name it and Google Maps delivers the information.
Powered wholly by Google, you can get directions, phone numbers, addresses as well as read through the reviews for business listings. This is helpful anywhere. You can get such useful travel apps on Apple and Google Play Store by default when purchasing any smartphone.
Zabihah
Zabiha may not be slick like the rest or may suffer from old information, yet it is still the largest Halal eating & Mosque reference database for Muslims all over the world. Categorised into three distinct categories, it detects your location (or you enter the postcode) and gives you prayer areas/mosques, halal eating places and halal meat shops within a specified radius. I use it everytime I change city or move to a new area.
There are other useful travel apps available as well and they may be more frequently updated however they are generally limited to US and Canada only.
If you have come across more useful travel apps for UK specifically, ping us in comments below so we may add those here.