European community for mobility management

Smartphone users can now plan their journey on all Flemish buses, trams and trains anytime, anywhere. Bus operator De Lijn has launched an iPhone application, a mobile route planner and a web portal for travel information.

The Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works, Hilde Crevits, and the Flemish bus and tram operator De Lijn presented several new travel information applications on the 14th September. The mobile routeplanner m.delijn.be is an adaptation of the online route planner on the regular website of De Lijn. It not only includes the buses and trams of De Lijn, but also transport available from other public transport operators in Belgium. The arrival and departure times of the buses and trams are based on real time information. It is possible to save routes for later use or to share them with friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Because most mobile requests on the original website of De Lijn come from iPhones, De Lijn decided to first create an application for the iPhone. It offers the same features as the mobile route planner, supplemented with the possibilities of the iPhone. With the built-in GPS function, you can use your present location as a departure point for the route planner or to find the nearest bus stops and ticket sale points. During your trip, you can follow your current position and know how far the next stop is. You can also use an address from your list of contacts or pinpoint a place on a map to activate the route planner. From within the app, you can also buy a ticket via SMS. The app is free of charge. For the moment it is only available in Dutch, but other language versions will be developed. In 2012, an app for android phones will also be launched.

At the web portal www.mijnlijn.be travellers find all channels for personalised information of De Lijn in one place. It includes an application to quickly find Park and Ride parking when visiting a city by car and the public transport available to take you from the parking to various places of interest in the city.

Minister Crevits made accurate and realtime travel information a spearhead of the new management agreement between De Lijn and the Flemish government. In the future, not only must there be information on expected disruptions, but also on unexpected disruptions. With the new applications, De Lijn wants to attract new travellers, who at present do not take public transport, because they do not know the lines or schedules. Research from UITP showed that good travel information can increase the number of public transport users by 5 to 25%.

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