TfL don't really do apps. They brought one out for cycle hire in 2015 and another for managing fare payments in 2017, but have always left anything more complex to others. Citymapper got in early, taking advantage of freely-available data feeds, and numerous other travel apps have followed since. Now finally, as of yesterday, TfL have brought out a journey planning app of their own - TfL Go.
It is, pretty much, the Journey Planner on the TfL website remodelled as an app. It's also much easier to use than the website, which was always an utterly impractical faff on a phone. Thus far it's only available for iPhones and iPads, but an Android version is due later in the year. I've downloaded it and given it a try.
[n.b. My photos today each show two screenshots from the app]
The home screen is of course the tube map. The app knows your location so your job is to enter an intended destination. Either start typing or simply scroll around the map and press on the station name. The app then whirrs away and presents a list of choices. Pick one and the intended route appears. Clean and clear.
Things to note:
» The map's clever, it knows which stations have major issues (in this case 'are closed') and shows them with an exclamation mark
» Try not to press on a line instead, because a message might pop up saying 'Northern line - Good service'
» Only a total journey time is given, not a time for each leg, nor an expected time at destination
» 13 minutes is an unrealistically pessimistic walking time
You don't have to go by tube. Here's the results screen if I try to travel to from home to Leicester Square. As you can see, TfL are very keen that I cycle this route if I can. Cycling appears above all other options, even though it's not as fast. A cycle route is provided on a separate map (which in this case mostly follows two segregated cycleways). Below 'Cycle' come a Fastest route, an Alternative route, a Step-free route and a Bus-only route. In this case the Alternative route is 2 minutes quicker than the Fastest route, because the app's ranking systems are by no means perfect.
For shorter journeys, the app also suggests walking. It seems willing to offer walking as an option up to about 40 minutes. If the app doesn't suggest walking, there's no way you can select it.
Things to note:
» When walking and cycling are suggested, there's no way to tell how long the journey is in miles, only in 'TfL minutes'.
» The route labelled as 'Fastest' doesn't include cycling (or walking), even when cycling (or walking) is quicker.
» In the three snapshots I've shown you so far, the walking time to Bow Road station has been different each time - 13 minutes, 12 minutes... and here 7 minutes. Something's up.
A really nice touch is how seamlessly the step-free option has been integrated into the system. Press the wheelchair on the home screen and the map changes to show only stations with step-free access (each with a blob of the appropriate colour). You can also switch between "step-free to platform" and "step-free to train" according to your needs. Be warned, however, that no further station-specific information is provided. If you plan a step-free journey to Hounslow West, for example, the fact that the station is only step-free for those in manual wheelchairs isn't mentioned.
Further information about individual stations can be only seen if you scroll down on the home screen before planning a journey. It never occurred to me to do this, so I wonder how many other users will miss it. Here we find the busiest times at the station, the next three trains at each platform and a local map. Clicking on a platform tells you where trains will be terminating (in this case Wembley Park or Stanmore) and clicking again brings up full step-free information.
Should there be potential disruption en route an extra box appears. You won't discover what that disruption is until you click on it. In this case, on a simple journey between Bow and Whitechapel, the issue is with the bus route the app (stupidly) wants me to ride for one stop to reach Bow Road station. Worse, the problem is miles away in the City of London so can't affect my journey, but the software doesn't recognise this. TfL's Journey Planner has always been a blunt instrument when it comes to bus disruption, so this is nothing new.
Dig deeper and it's possible to alter your starting position or change the date and time to plan a future journey. These snapshots show what happens if I try to plan a trip from Bow to Harlesden this weekend. The District and Bakerloo lines are closed, so two replacement buses magically appear. That 18 minute walk to Bow Road station is ridiculous, though. I could easily walk all the way to Mile End in that time.
Here are two examples of longer journeys. Heathrow Terminal 4 station is currently closed so the app gets me as far as Hatton Cross by tube, then asks me to take the bus. Alas it doesn't tell me which bus to take, and the bus stop it suggests I wait at doesn't exist. The second example shows that National Rail services have been included, this time with a specific timetabled service to catch. The app also has a decent stab at the walking time between the station at the bottom of Box Hill and the National Trust tea room at the top.
Here's a less successful attempt at nudging beyond the Greater London boundary. The tube journey to Croxley is fine, but if I decide to take the bus I'm offered an insane trip by Green Line coach from Finchley Road to Hemel Hempstead, then back to Watford to catch another Green Line coach. At no point does the app state which buses and coaches are required, which in this case is crucial information. Attempting to follow this journey would be a godawful mistake.
Finally, as I've blogged before, TfL's Journey Planner inexplicably includes a database of locations far outside London. Sometimes it can even deliver a route to get you there, as in this example from Bow to Lake Windermere. The second journey, to the farthest flung station on the Scottish mainland, is more convoluted. The given route asks you to take two trains to Crewe where you board the Caledonian Sleeper, despite the fact you could have boarded it back at Euston (and likely require a reservation). Basically, venture beyond London at your peril.
Reading the press release which accompanied the launch of TfL Go, a lot of what Vernon says is absolutely true. It is quick and easy to plan (and re-plan) routes, potentially even simpler than Citymapper (which has become a bloated beast of late). Accessible travel is fully integrated, not a bolt-on afterthought. As for "enabling travel at quieter times to help with social distancing", all the app mentions is times when stations are usually busiest rather than real-time information about travelling conditions. It's just the existing Journey Planner dressed up, not a clever update suggesting less busy routes.
But hey, this is only public version 1, and the in-house development team intend to update the app with additional information later in the year. Even if TfL Go has all sorts of imperfections underneath it's still a very decent start.
