‘Passenger Assistance’ app launched to make railway more accessible

In a first for public transport anywhere in Great Britain, and developed with train operators, the ‘Passenger Assistance’ app will offer passengers the choice to request assistance, update their profile and review their journeys from anywhere using their smartphone. 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.

The new ‘Passenger Assistance’ app is the latest step to give people more confidence as they return to the railway following COVID-19 travel restrictions. Passengers can set up and update their profile, with no need to call to make changes and no need to repeat their requirements each time they request assistance. This saves time and ensures information is up to date, helping staff to tailor their assistance to meet individual needs.

Previously, calls to book assistance could take up to 40 minutes on the phone. Staff at stations then received a printed list of booked assistance each morning, which meant when plans changed, the list wouldn’t be updated automatically and staff could end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Accessibility and inclusion

The new system upgrades along with the app mean the booking process will be smoother for disabled people. Requests to book assistance are sent directly to the train operator who will confirm the booking by email with a unique booking reference. The train operator will arrange assistance by a trained member of staff who will be working from up to date information, adjusting their approach for a range of disabilities.

‘Passenger Assistance’ was built by Transreport, a UK-based tech company which focuses on accessibility and inclusion, in collaboration with rail companies and with input from an Accessibility Panel including disabled passengers and accessibility experts. The app supports screen readers and text to speech tools and is also compatible with mobile assistive support tools such as font re-sizing, contrast adjustment and screen magnification.

‘Passenger Assistance’ is available to download on the App Store and Google Play and is offered as an additional way to request assistance alongside the existing phone, email and basic web forms, and will evolve with new features over time.

Transforming the way disabled passengers travel

Jacqueline Starr, Chief Executive Officer of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), said: “We want to make the railway more accessible to more people and this new app is a first step towards transforming the way disabled passengers request assistance, with greater control at their fingertips. To help all our passengers travel with confidence as restrictions ease, we’re also providing effective ventilation on trains, continued cleaning and better information about busy services to help with social distancing.”

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris, said: “Returning to public transport post-lockdown, we’re presented with a unique opportunity to re-shape the transport network to ensure it works for everyone. The Department for Transport (DfT) has supported and provided funding to develop this app since its earliest inception and it builds on brilliant accessibility improvements already made by the rail industry, simplifying disabled passengers’ experience of the network and ensuring staff have the right tools to assist them.”

Louise Rubin, Head of Policy and Campaigns at disability charity Scope, said: “The current booking process is something disabled people have told us stands in the way of them using the rail network, so it’s great to see rail operators improving the assistance booking system. This app should play an important role in simplifying the process making the assistance people need to travel much easier to book. We hope this app is the first step on a journey that will see disabled people turn up and travel whenever they want.”