UK technology company, Passenger, is responding to the needs of the UK’s smaller bus operators during the Covid-19 pandemic by launching a mobile app, MyTrip, which will help enable social distancing and mobile ticketing.
MyTrip brings sophisticated ticketing and notification technology within easy reach of independent bus operators, also allowing passengers to buy bus tickets from their mobile and see live bus locations and occupancy information for the services operating in their area.
Tom Quay, CEO at Passenger, explains why an extra layer of confidence in bus travel is important at this time: “As we learn to live with Covid-19, providing safe and trustworthy transportation is a big task for public transport operators and will impact on how quickly the economy recovers from the nationwide lockdown.
“Bus transport is a crucial element of a town’s infrastructure so it’s important, for the future survival of small bus operators and for the recovery of town centres, that passengers feel confident to resume using public transport. Our ambition is to provide smaller bus operators with a simple and cost-effective answer to the industry-wide challenge of restoring passenger confidence.
“Bus operators must balance the needs of the user with government guidance and recommendations. MyTrip aids small bus operators in meeting these needs and requirements, supporting the future of key bus routes for commuting, social and pleasure purposes, while also meeting the strict social distancing and cleaning requirements set by the government, to prevent the spread of Covid-19.”
MyTrip also includes Free Bus Open Data Service (BODS) hosting through the app, to help small bus operators meet data requirements set by the Department for Transport.
Tom adds: “We are excited to be bringing this complex technology to an accessible app platform this September. The rapid development of MyTrip has been thanks to our experience and knowledge as a transport-specific tech company. We quickly understood the challenges COVID-19 presented to the industry and were able to quickly develop technology to counter those.
“We hope that MyTrip helps provide confidence to bus users and operators in this economically uncertain time and while public transport users are hyper-conscious of health risks and safety.”
Please visit mytrip.discoverpassenger.com to find out more.
