Transport for London (TfL) has released a new app to help customers plan their journeys and travel safely across the network as services return to normal following easing of lockdown restrictions.
Currently available on iPhone, TfL Go provides live train times in a mobile-optimised format and information to enable travel at quieter times outside peak hours to help users maintain social distancing. The app also offers alternative routes and walking and cycling options. TfL said these features will develop further based on customer feedback.
Vernon Everitt, managing director of customers, communication and technology at TfL, said: “This new app will help support our customers and London’s recovery from the pandemic as more people return to public transport.
‘Our services are cleaner than ever and running at near normal levels and we are offering a wider range of active travel options, including extensive new walking and cycling facilities. This app offers Londoners the information they need to get around easily, safely and reliably.”
TfL Go also aims to improve accessibility information by including a ‘step-free’ mode to access easy-to-navigate views of all stations with street-to-platform accessibility. It shows where step-free access is available in one direction and step-free interchange between lines. Users can also use the iOS VoiceOver and Dynamic Type capabilities to use the app.
The new app builds on recent changes to customer information, such as the return to normal service level information displayed on TfL’s service status boards and online journey planner. With the majority of tube stations providing free Wi-Fi and the recent pilot of 4G on the eastern section of the Jubilee line, commuters will also be able to access TfL Go’s journey information while on the move.
TfL said it intends to release an Android version in the autumn, with further updates later in the year. New features will include live bus information, lift status and the location of toilets.
The app was designed and built in-house by TfL and uses the open data feeds freely provided to third-party app developers and others. TfL said its online data portal is currently being updated to provide greater resilience and flexibility to developers to access and use the information in their own products and services.
Further datasets, such as better accessibility data, which was developed for the TfL Go app, will be added to this portal later this year.
