The smarter way to travel

14 Jul 2016 12:50 PM

Want to find the best fare for your journey or need advice knowing which bus to catch? You need go no further than a station concourse for help!

Every ticket machine on the Underground has recently been upgraded, and extra ones installed, so they now offer multiple ticketing services for passengers.

These smarter machines give details of all the various fare options available for a particular journey, in both London and beyond. They also flag-up the best value tickets.

They will issue Oyster cards, handle top-ups and carry out many transactions which were only previously possible at a ticket office, such as resolving journey and ticket discrepancies, and processing some refunds.

The new machines are quick and easy to use, and have an intelligent step-by-step guide to take customers through the various functions.

Tube stations now offer people a choice of ticket machines, depending on what services they want:

• Oyster top up, with debit/credit cards
• Oyster and paper tickets, with debit/credit cards and cash, but don't give change
•  All ticket services

Ask the staff

Staff on duty on the concourse also have a huge amount of information at their fingertips. All station employees have been issued with iPads so they can help passengers choose the right ticket type, plan their journeys and deal with any difficulties which might arise.

The devices are pre-loaded with apps that provide all sorts of travel information, including an overview of ticket types and even local directions, so staff can offer immediate assistance.

With access to the internet from their iPads, it also means there's virtually no limit to the help that staff can give customers, from flight information, to tourist spots and local amenities.

WiFi

With WiFi now available in 250 London Underground stations, too, customers are better connected to get the personal transport details they want.

More than 460 travel apps are also available on smartphones and other mobile devices, many of which use ticketing and location data to provide a personalised service.

And for customers who have an online account, if there is a severe disruption on the Tube, for example, they can enter their details and get an automatic refund.

Mobile apps are currently being used by around 40 per cent of Londoners. TfL also provides 3.4million customers with service and travel updates on Twitter and has a presence on Facebook and on eight other platforms including Google+ and LinkedIn.