Updating our applications to improve rail journeys
We’ve been busy enhancing existing tools and adding new features and functionality to appeal to a wider audience. Here’s a quick tour.
Signalbox’s taxi app integration automatically detects a train and orders a taxi.
Live train maps
Our Live Train Maps now appear on websites and apps across the UK, offering a new way for passengers to stay informed during their journey. Like flight tracking services such as FlightRadar24, the maps enable customers to view real-time information in an interactive and visually appealing way.
The maps provide customised information about specific trains including the train operating company, final destination, route and calling points, as well as the live status of the service.
Our latest partnership with Avanti West Coast also allows users to detect which train they are on, and share the arrival time at their destination with friends, family or colleagues via text message.
Taxi app integration
An important use of Signalbox’s technology is to make the travel experience for customers much easier by reducing ‘friction’ and streamlining services. So rather than checking on your train’s arrival time and booking a taxi separately for a particular time, it’s possible to automatically book a taxi for the right time from within a train app. Signalbox’s technology allows integration with all the major taxi services using data from a third-party aggregator. This makes the whole process much simpler.
Delay repay compensation
Delay Repay is used to compensate rail passengers for delays and cancellations. Our technology can streamline this process as it can automatically detect the journey taken and determine if a passenger is entitled to compensation. In addition, the technology can detect fraudulent claims - for example, if someone tries to claim for a journey they didn’t take or claim for multiple journeys.
Improved incident response
While all mobile phones have Advance Mobile Location (AML) technology built in to help emergency services locate the caller’s location, this is not particularly useful aboard a moving train. For example, it doesn’t tell them which train the incident – such as a crime or a medical emergency - is occurring. Working with the Department of Transport, Signalbox has trialled a solution which helps to provide much greater context for the emergency services, including the train which the passenger is travelling on. By automating the location identification process, Signalbox’s geospatial technology is helping to save the emergency services time and ultimately help save lives.