At Reset we’ve often discussed the idea of gamification, the growing body of thought about how to use gaming tools to improve our world — everything from learning disaster preparedness to environmental education. Imagine if you actually got points and rewards for surviving Muni. Now a new app in London called Chromaroma is turning transportation into a game, allowing players to track their transit journey with personalized visualizations. It already has 3,000 users.

The app taps into the data sourced from Londoners’ Oyster transit cards similar to Clipper Cards. Each time the cards are swiped at stations, the app tracks your travels and awards points accordingly. Users can also join a transit team to help “capture” a Tube station by fulfilling missions. These missions consist of checking in at places along the London Tube that provide interesting transit trivia like the Tube station where talk-show host Jerry Springer was born (no, really it happened).

Gamification Can Make Transportation Better

Chromaroma is interesting because it is about more than just points and badges. Users get a dose of history, geography and storytelling along with a framework of their transit use. Designers hope this new framework will inspire users to explore outside of their routine and commute more efficiently.

We want this game for Muni! Perhaps it could help improve transportation in San Francisco by encouraging exercise, alternative modes of transit and smarter commuting.

Are there any SF Muni games or apps out there that haven’t hit mainstream yet?