Journey planning using Traveline

17 December 2021

What do you want from a journey planning tool? We worked with Traveline to find out what people think of Traveline’s existing multi-modal journey planning information.

We looked at what transport users – both those currently using public transport and those not – thought about the way Traveline provides journey planning information across different types of transport.

The study concluded that journey planning typically takes four forms:

• strategy: whether to travel and the best way to do so
• optimising: ways to travel more quickly and cheaply
• checking: seeking up-to-minute updates on problems to avoid disruption and to successfully execute the journey
• planning hypothetical journeys: researching options ahead of a journey that may or may not be taken.

The research found that no single journey planning tool current meets every need, meaning people are using a range of sources of information.

Guy Dangerfield, head of strategy at Transport Focus said:

“Unless you are already a regular, understanding what time buses and trains run is crucial to deciding if public transport is an option for your trip. Making journey planning as simple as possible for passengers – and potential passengers – is key”.

Julie Williams, chief executive of Traveline Information Ltd said:

“We are pleased to have worked with Transport Focus to understand what customers like about Traveline and where they would like us to improve.  It’s great that our website is already well received, but this insight is hugely valuable as Traveline looks to do even better at helping people choose public transport.”

You can read the full report here.