What is self-care?
Not having to wait when needing to relieve yourself; taking a moment to rehydrate while you travel; and even giving yourself a break from carting around heavy luggage as you explore a city on foot. Developed in France, BubblesMapper is a new app that mobilizes existing public facilities for the hygiene and comfort of travellers, with plans in place to list private facilities located within business premises.
Public facilities: A socio-economic concern
There are many hygiene concerns a tourist or urban resident might have while on a day out:
Where is the closest toilet? – Will it be far, or might it be dirty?
My child needs a diaper change – where can I go?
Where can I get safe drinking water?
I want to explore the city but I have my heavy luggage with me – is there a storage unit nearby?
Up to 56% of French people want improvement in the maintenance of public facilities [1]. However, despite the pending requests, without dedicated funding there is no urgency to improve city facilities for the well-being of travellers. Difficulties in accessing infrastructure to satisfy physiological needs create disruptions in tourism, cultural, economic, and sporting routes, and can be sources of discomfort, discrimination, and insecurity. BubblesMapper wants you to be relieved of such anxieties and to stay on route to enjoy your day out to its full potential.
With a network of over 50,000 facilities all over France, BubblesMapper offers both search filters and location navigation for users to find the ‘bubble’ they need. Existing free public facilities including WCs, diaper-changing tables, lockers at public transport stations, and safe drinking fountains are already listed on the app, with plans to expand to private facilities on local business premises that users will be able to access for free or for a small fee.
Hygiene is more than cleanliness
Aside from simply finding the closest facility for your urgent needs, BubblesMapper hopes to improve the hygiene and health of not just travellers and urban citizens, but also the city itself.
Retention-induced urinary infections, digestive irregularities, dehydration, and muscle pain – these are just some of the health conditions everyday tourists or city dwellers could face while traveling. Cities on the other hand experience cleanliness challenges such as public urination, and hygiene issues like perspiration in public transport. Furthermore, people with challenged mobility or chronic illnesses have the added hurdles of not being able to access many facilities, social discrimination, and lack of information as to which spaces are suitable for them.
Creator of BubblesMapper and nuclear engineer, Paris-based David Beville says:
"We want more than to give access to conveniences, we want people to have spaces where they feel safe. The comfort of individuals is important, but even more important is that we raise awareness for the environment and those who are more in need. In cities where space is limited, we want to help people reclaim public space while encouraging soft mobility."
Coming soon:
Pay-to-use facilities and activation on business premises In its next phase, BubblesMapper aims to grow its network to include even more facilities such as WCs, baby-changing tables, luggage storage, and even showers located within business premises.
Without having to construct a single new facility, businesses such as gyms, restaurants, hotels and stores can monetize their existing underutilised facilities, securing funds for maintenance, all while gaining visibility with a customer base who may not have known their locations before.
With the twin BubblesMapper Pro app, businesses have full control over granting access to their facilities, such as limiting the number of access tickets in a day, or limiting visits from the public to low-activity hours so as not to interfere with regular activities. The Pro app even tracks payments and earnings, and offers a mutual review system.
An added bonus:
Whether a stunning food menu or in-store merchandise, businesses will be able to showcase their offerings to new potential customers without any additional marketing efforts.
BubblesMapper is now available for download via the Apple App Store and the Android Play Store.
Both users and interested business partners can visit the website at bubblesmapper.com
[1] Etude « Hygiene Matters » by SCA in 2016