How Middly finds a fair place to meet
Middly picks meeting places by travel time, not distance. Here's how it works, and why it often gives a different answer from the halfway point on a map.
Why not just meet halfway?
The halfway point on a map is the same distance from both of you. In London, distance says little about how long a journey takes. One of you might be a few minutes from a fast line into the centre. The other might need a bus and two changes to get anywhere.
So the map's halfway point is often quick for one person and slow for the other, and it can land somewhere with no station nearby. Here's what that looks like on real journeys.
| Starting from | Halfway on the map | Middly's suggestion |
|---|---|---|
| Clapham Common and Hackney Central | Borough27 min41 min | City of London28 min27 min |
| Ealing Broadway and Stratford | Regent's Park46 min48 min | Mayfair25 min24 min |
| Richmond and Greenwich | Battersea41 min51 min | Westminster33 min37 min |
| Wimbledon and Walthamstow | Waterloo25 min37 min | Pimlico32 min36 min |
What Middly does
Maps where each of you can get to
From each starting point, Middly draws the area that person can reach by public transport within a set time, at the time you're travelling. These shapes follow the transport network, so they stretch along fast lines and shrink where connections are slow.
Finds where the two areas overlap
The overlap is everywhere you can both reach within that time. Middly tries several travel times at once, then tightens or widens the search to find the shortest time that still gives you somewhere to meet.
Splits big overlaps into neighbourhoods
A large overlap is split into smaller areas, so you can choose between real neighbourhoods rather than one huge zone.
Finds places inside each area
Middly searches for cafés, pubs, restaurants or parks in each area, drops anything that falls outside it, and ranks the rest.
Shows each person's journey to the place
When you open a place, Middly works out the travel time from each starting point to that exact spot, so you can see both journeys before you decide.
Middly compared with other ways of choosing
| Approach | What it gets right | Where it falls down |
|---|---|---|
| The halfway point on a map | Quick, and the same distance for both of you. | Ignores which lines are near you, so travel times can be very different. Often lands away from stations, or somewhere with nothing open. |
| Checking places one by one in a journey planner | Accurate travel times for each place you try. | Slow: you check every place for both people, and you only try places you already thought of. |
| Middly | Checks everywhere at once for both of you, at the time you're travelling, then suggests places in the areas that work. | London only for now, two people per search, and iPhone only. |
Where the information comes from
- Travel times come from TravelTime, using London's public transport timetables, including the walk to and from stops.
- Places, ratings, prices, opening hours and photos come from Google Maps.
- Middly doesn't need an account, and your recent searches are kept on your phone. See the privacy policy for details.