Trapeze Team Launches Rail Ticketing iPhone Application
LONDON, UK | November 23 2010 Solution delivered for leading ticket retailer thetrainline.comLONDON, UK, 23 November, 2010 – Trapeze’s specialist mobile technology team based in London has successfully completed a major iPhone project on behalf of online retailer thetrainline.com. Delivery of version 2.0 makes this the first application to allow UK iPhone users to purchase rail tickets, covering the full national network. The application is free to download from the travel section of iTunes.
The original journey planning application, launched a year ago, has proven extremely successful with over 900,000 downloads and 30 million journey lookups. Continuously to be found in the top 5 travel apps in iTunes, it has rapidly become one of the essential information services for iPhone owners in the UK. Inclusion of ticket sales consolidates this position, making it the complete convenient tool for rail travellers.
Tickets can be purchased by secure debit / credit card transaction for all train operators across the entire rail network. A wide variety of ticket types are available – single, advance return and open return – in many cases offering large savings in comparison to walk-up fares. Tickets can generally be purchased up to 10 minutes before train departure, with a collection reference immediately sent to the phone for pickup from machines at hundreds of stations.
A key design feature adopted to ensure excellent usability is that the full ticket selling process takes place entirely within the application, rather than passing off to web pages. This makes the process flow very logical and intuitive, with quick and easy comparison of different fare options.
Aside from its core functions of train time lookups and ticket purchase, the application offers a wide range of innovative features, including stored timetables (handy for viewing when offline), an intuitive 1-click Next Train Home feature, carefully selected taxi numbers for each station, up-to-date tube information for London travellers, and a novel calendar view allowing different journey options to be compared at a glance.
Further developments are eagerly anticipated. "On selected rotes, we are looking at providing the ability to receive tickets directly on the phone as a secure barcode, replacing the need for a ticket altogether," thetrainline's product development director Richard Rowson said.
“This app brings together years of experience in delivering innovative, high quality travel services by both thetrainline and our team”, said Tim Johnson, product manager at Trapeze. “We’ve collaborated on something that is highly intuitive and offers some imaginative features to make it really compelling. We’re particularly excited about being the first to include rail ticket sales in an iPhone app.”
About Trapeze Group
Trapeze Group delivers solutions that consider the full 360 degrees of passenger transport. Whether addressing the needs of a single department, an entire organisation, or the community, Trapeze provides some of the most advanced software, intelligentt ransport systems (ITS) and mobile technologies in the industry. Hundreds of government and commercial organisations across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific have turned to Trapeze to realise efficiencies, enhance the quality and scope of their services, and safely transport more people with less cost. Visit www.trapezegroup.co.uk.
Media Contact
Chris Gough
Trapeze Group
Tel: 0844 561 6771
chris.gough@trapezegroup.com
