Wanted: Guinea pigs to test new public transport route planner
One route planner that covers all Belgium’s public transport services has been the dream of many of those that regularly use the services of more than one public transport provider. Now the Brussels (MIVB), Flemish (De Lijn) and Walloon (TEC) public transport companies have joined forces with Belgium’s state-owned rail company NMBS to develop a route planner app that will include all rail, tram, bus and metro services across the length and breadth of Belgium.
The public transport companies are now looking for guinea pigs to test the app before it is given the all-clear to go live. The Smart Mobility Planner integrates real time vehicle position data from the four public transport company to enable users to select the best route for them to get from A to B at the time that the request is made. This can be in combination with doing part of the journey on foot or by bike.
In its current version, the route planner only takes into account, busses, trains, trams, metros and making part of the journey by bike. The Villo bike share stations are also included in the test app. It is hoped that in time other bike share services and car share services will also be included. Another area that still requires some attention is the fact that currently not all ticket prices can be found in the app.
The test stage of the app will be launched in March and will run until the end of the year. The app’s developers are looking for people to test the app. Those wishing to do so can enrol via this link (site in Dutch and French).