IT & SOFTWARE
and the prevalence of smartphones in the UK, it is essential to keep up with the times, according to Jason Webb, head of online services, and Chris Scoggins, chief executive, of National Rail Enquiries.
Webb explained how customer feedback and consumer trends had necessitated a revamp to their original site.
National Rail Enquiries’ chief executive Chris
Scoggins and
head of online services Jason Webb talk to RTM about delivering information faster and in more accessible formats to keep up with passenger expectations.
P
roviding information via a mobile version of National Rail Enquiries is much more than simply condensing the original website.
The recently launched site aims to provide up-to-date information, journey compari- sons and details of disruption, wherever the passenger needs to access it.
Mobile society With the growing importance of technology,
66 | rail technology magazine Dec/Jan 12
He said: “It follows the growing trend that we’ve seen for smartphones in the UK; there’s more and more need for customers to access information on the move and use their mobile devices to do that. It’s keep- ing tabs on what our customers want and delivering accordingly.”
The previous mobile site, the first in the rail industry, “needed to be updated in line with modern usage requirements,” Scog- gins added.
Webb continued: “With the mobile site it’s about getting the user experience, the in- terface, absolutely right. It has to be very simple and very fast to use and given the increases in usage that we’ve seen, we’ve got both of those right. We’ve seen a sig- nificant leap in customer usage, a lot of very positive comments from customers,
either through traditional customer rela- tions channels or through twitter and the social networks.
“Rather than take what we have on the website and condense that onto a small screen, we’ve looked at how a customer can best access information on a small device when they haven’t got much time and not necessarily a brilliant signal.”
Both Scoggins and Webb acknowledged that technology and mobile software is go- ing to continue to grow in importance, and can only be the future for delivering effec- tive passenger information.
Scoggins commented: “As in all walks of life, IT is becoming fundamental to soci- ety and it’s just expected to be there and to work.”
“It’s about using IT as an enabler of change and tailoring your channels accordingly for your customers,” Webb added.
Real-time benefits
Webb said: “The new mobile site offers cus- tomers journey planning with real-time in- formation; it can tell you if your train’s late,
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