A smart new app has been launched in Greater Manchester – Moovit – promises not just the standard route-planning and train-time-reporting type functions but also real-time information on buses, trains and trams to tell you just when the next one is going to pull up, even if it’s the number 11 and it’s been sitting in a traffic jam.

How does it get that whizzy info? Where GPS data is available it uses that, but otherwise it relies on other users of the app, sitting on the bus or train, who’s phones can report back to Moovit Central that they’re going nowhere fast.

But does it work. Manchester Confidential gave it a try and found it wanting.

I’ve tried it out a couple of times and had a similar experience – it shows promise, but for Greater Manchester at least it’s not there yet.

I asked it to find me the quickest train route from Gatley to Liverpool Lime Street. Moovit suggested I go via Wigan, but thetrainline.com said that changing at Manchester Piccadilly would be 25 minutes quicker – and it was! That wasn’t some clever crowd-sourcing real-time magic, it was simple route-finding.

Moovit is a good idea – I’ll check back in a few months and see if the bugs have been ironed out and it’s living up to its promise.

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