Visiting London? How to Get Smart Directions
Travel Faster, Easier, Delay-Free by Using Mobile HopStop & Google
Nov 1, 2009
Oh, for a travel Jeeves, a personal valet and trip planner who’d know the fastest way to get from here to there by London Underground or bus. Wish no longer. HopStop’s a word-of-mouth hit in a number of American cities, including New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Chicago, Atlanta and Providence. The service, which has between one and two million users per month, expanded to include London and Paris in 2009.
Because it can be translated into many languages, HopStop's useful for travelers who are more comfortable using French, German or Greek than English. And, it's a good service for people living in London who want to be smart about getting around the city.
Travel London with Hand-Held Map, Precise Directions for Tube, Bus and Walking in London
New York-based HopStop President and CEO Joe Meyer, explains how this high-tech service can help both visitors and residents navigate London’s famously arcane streets, mews, and alleyways. He said, “HopStop’s mission is to help people get from one place to another in the most efficient combination of walking and mass transit, including subway or tube, rail, and bus.” HopStop has real time updates for delays.
Like Google Maps, HopStop offers On-the-Go Travel Directions to London Hotels, Restaurants
Like Google Transit, HopStop can save valuable time for tourists and business travelers in London who need to get where they’re going, fast. But, it’s a little user-friendlier — and much greener. As of this writing, Google’s London directions offer only walking and car directions, not public transportation. HopStop’s London service offers a drop-down menu with options for directions that involve public transportation, with options for "more" or "less" walking, and itineraries that combine public transit and walking.
Travelers to London will appreciate several features of HopStop's free service:
- HopStop directions are available in many languages beside English: Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Swahili. The full website can be accessed in French or English.
- Underground subway directions are precise: For instance, HopStop tells whether to take the Circle Line (which, in fact, runs in a circle) in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction.
- Detailed area maps pop up: There’s no time lost fiddling with a London street map, tube map, or A to Z map book.
- Travelers can get through Central London and beyond quickly and efficiently: HopStop’s mass transit and walking directions are upgraded continuously. Updates reflect shifting circumstances, whether that’s planned repair work, or a passenger having a baby in the Underground.
London Trip Planner: Compare Route Distances And Travel Times
The system provides several alternative routes, depending on whether one wants get there as quickly as possible, or combine walking, bus and Underground. How long will it take to get from Buckingham Palace to the Tower of London by foot versus by London Underground, or a combination of walking and mass transit? Check it out at HopStop. (The former takes an hour; the latter 15 minutes.) Dying to ride atop one of London’s red famous double-decker buses? Ask HopStop for bus-only directions.
Get London Travel Directions by Cell Phone or SMS Texting
On-the-go tourists can access directions from a computer or mobile telephone, either by text messaging a HopStop number, or by logging onto the site from an I-Phone, Blackberry, Treo or other web-enabled mobile device. The text-messaging service requires that users register online. HopStop does not charge for the texting service.
Users traveling from Paris to London, New York or other HopStop-serviced cities can access door-to-door directions elsewhere just by changing their registration data online.
Trip Planning: Tourists Use HopStop to Plot Multiple Stops, Day Trip Itineraries
Tourists can use HopStop to plot out a full day’s itinerary. Suppose one wants to go to the Tate Modern to see an art exhibit, followed by a stroll across the Thames River to the Houses of Parliament, ending at Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. A few minutes on HopStop can provide a combination of walking and/or Underground directions.
HopStop’s system isn’t perfect. It doesn’t recognize some obvious destinations by name, like major department stores—although if one can plug in the correct street address, it works fine. Consider HopStop a helpful tool used in conjunction with a guidebook.
Still, it’s helpful to know how to get from Gatwick Airport to London’s Victoria Station. It’s beyond wonderful to know, when racing to cram in a full day's worth of London fun, that there’s repair work going on at the Piccadilly Circus station, or to avoid the Knightsbridge tube stop until after five.
HopStop offers an environmentally-friendly, personal travel valet information service for public transit. HopStop can be used to help plan a multi-stop trip, saving precious time getting lost and frustrated. It won't fold the laundry or drive the limo, but HopStop offers a kind of 21st-century travel information valet service, for public transit and walking directions. Thanks, Jeeves.
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