South Australian transport and infrastructure minister Stephen Mullighan wants Adelaide passengers to give their thoughts on an app designed to help them use public transport.
Local company The Distillery is working with the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure to develop the Metro Mate app, which Mullighan says will provide real-time and personalised information to travellers.
“The Metro Mate app is one of a number of initiatives we are investigating to make travel on our public transport network easier and more convenient for all of our passengers,” the minister said.
“Providing more detailed information will not only improve the passenger experience for everyone, it will also help to encourage more people to take public transport.”
The state government is seeking feedback from the public on features they consider most important, through an online survey.
Potential features for the app include real-time arrival information, real-time maps showing the location of buses, trains and trams, the ability to recharge Metrocards and monitor their use, being able to ‘rate a ride’, travel statistics, and the ability to provide photos as feedback to the Department.
“Already the Adelaide Metro website provides plenty of information such as real-time arrivals and network notifications, but we want to improve that service by giving our passengers more detailed and more personalised information,” the minister continued.
“The Metro Mate app will add another level of communication to the public transport network, in addition to the well-patronised Adelaide Metro website, Info Line and Info Centres, and of course our real-time social media updates.”
The online survey will end next week.
The Metro Mate app is expected to be launched early in 2017.
It would be useful if the app could know if a bus / tram / train full to capacity and that the next bus is nearly empty. This would require people to Tag-on and Tag-off. Adelaide Railway Station is currently the only place where passengers have to Tag-off.
A seriies of full buses on one route might cause passengers to see if alternative routes are not so full. The app could then suggest the alternative route(s).