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The Bike Hub levy fund is paying for an overhaul of Bikeforall.net, including a site rename and the creation of the UK’s first journey planning app for iPhones.
Bikeforall.net will be renamed BikeHub.co.uk, to tie-in with the name of the UK’s bike levy. There will be an online journey planner but, critically, there will also be a smartphone journey planner. The first one is for iPhones, but apps for other phones will follow. The online journey planner and the mobile version will be of most use to new and hesitant cyclists.
Users will be able to toggle between maps provided by Google and the Department for Transport’s journey planner but the default map will be provided by Cyclestreets.net. This is an open source mapping service developed via the
OpenStreetMap.
Users can choose to be directed along quieter routes or, for more confident riders, along more direct routes.
There are lots of GPS and sports events tracking apps for smartphones, but none for mobile route finding. The BikeHub app will be free and likely to be extremely popular. As well as working out routes, the app can pinpoint the nearest bike shops, and guide cyclists in via step-by-step directions. The bike shop data is provided by ACT.
The website is being created by Roundhouse of Newcastle. The iPhone app is being developed by Tinderhouse of Kent. Both will go live in time for Bike Week in June.
