Go-Ahead's On Track App designed by passengers - for passengers
Transport Company The Go-Ahead Group has today formally launched On Track - its new free mobile App for rail passengers.
Providing highly personalised real-time information and super-fast journey planning for all national rail routes, On Track is:
• incredibly easy to use
• speedier to plan journeys using GPS
• personalised to individuals’ travel habits
Built in collaboration with Southeastern, Southern and London Midland passengers – On Track is free to download from Google Play store and the App Store.
On Track is designed to be 'intelligent' and personalised for their journeys. It provides rail passengers with all that’s needed to plan a journey: identifying nearest stations, buying train and car park tickets, through to real-time train-running information. It also gives one-touch email or phone contact to customer services and to claiming compensation if a journey is delayed.
Group Marketing Director, Gillian Singh, explains the App is about providing truly-personalised information to those on-the-move:
"For too long it's been 'one size fits all'. We know everyone's travel habits are different. So, we wanted to create a smart, fast, ‘assistant’ at your fingertips - something tailored to suit regular commuters or occasional travellers. There are several Apps out there but our customers wanted something simpler, faster and better. With ours – personalised real-time information is instantly available.”
In its own recent independent market research Passenger Focus, the consumer watchdog, found Apps such as these were just what customers wanted.
Passenger Focus’ Chief Executive Anthony Smith said:
“Mobile Apps are increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. The rail industry should continue to develop and promote useful Apps. These Apps should be free and provide passengers with the latest travel information, allowing them to make informed choices.”
Developed by London award winning mobile specialists, The App Business, On Track can be used on both IOS and Android platforms.
Strategy Director and The App Business Founder, Daniel Joseph, said:
"Our audit of existing rail Apps made the problem - and opportunity - abundantly clear: without the ability to remember passengers' individual daily habits and requirements, tracking down information became slow and repetitive. Testing with passengers validated this insight loud and clear.
“The opportunity for us was to make an App that rail passengers could personalise to meet their specific transport needs faster and more intuitively. And On Track delivers just that: regular journey information is surfaced the moment you open the app and we’ve removed every single unnecessary step meaning passengers get answers faster."
Gillian Singh explained passengers, recruited via Twitter, tested everything to make sure the App is best-in-class:
“Passengers appreciate the personal touches: the ability to nickname stations, add personalised icons, and show a countdown clock to the next train. We tested everything with customers, so know these little things are important and matter. Other Apps can be complicated. Ours couldn't be simpler. Wherever you're going - On Track helps you along the way"
On Track is branded separately for Go-Ahead's three rail companies: Southern, Southeastern and London Midland but covers the whole national UK rail network and uses optimised data sources from Go-Ahead, National Rail Enquiries and Transport for London to for up-to-the-second information.
