The much-awaited (and overdue) Passenger Assistance app by Transreport has launched today.
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Article with more information from Rail Business Daily
From my quick look, the interface looks nice, and being able to book everything in one place is good, but it's disappointing that it's not possible to book tickets at the same time or check if wheelchair spaces and the desired assistance is available ahead of time. This has been built up by Rail Delivery Group and some of the operators as a huge change in the way assistance works, but so far it seems more like a small step forward. I'm aware there have been huge changes on the station-facing side of the system too though, so perhaps only time will tell.
Network Rail Tweet
Article with more information from Rail Business Daily
What are people's thoughts? Do you think it will make a meaningful difference to the ways passenger assistance is provided?
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Passenger Assistance app to help disabled rail passengers travel with confidence in first for public transport
ByDanny Longhorn
May 25, 2021
A new app available today will make it easier and quicker for disabled people to request assistance for their train journeys, helping people to travel with confidence.
The ‘Passenger Assistance’ app, developed with train operators, will offer passengers the choice to request assistance, update their profile and review their journeys from anywhere using their smartphone, a first for public transport anywhere in Great Britain. This can speed up assistance bookings and give customers greater confidence on their journeys as they can instantly amend accessibility requirements on their profile via the app.
The rail industry has already improved assistance for passengers by replacing back-end systems to improve calls, introducing user profiles to speed up bookings, and providing frontline staff with real-time information about assistance bookings through one central database.
From my quick look, the interface looks nice, and being able to book everything in one place is good, but it's disappointing that it's not possible to book tickets at the same time or check if wheelchair spaces and the desired assistance is available ahead of time. This has been built up by Rail Delivery Group and some of the operators as a huge change in the way assistance works, but so far it seems more like a small step forward. I'm aware there have been huge changes on the station-facing side of the system too though, so perhaps only time will tell.
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