Public Transport Victoria (PTV) has launched a new-look version of its public transport app to help Victorians travel safe as COVID-19 restrictions ease and travel begins again.
Announced by Minister for Public Transport, Ben Carroll, the PTV app was redesigned to be fully accessible and deliver more personalised functionality for the 500,000+ Victorians who used the app every week before pandemic restrictions were in place.
“Passengers will be able to easily search their frequent journeys, stops and stations, and save home and work locations to enable instant notifications for disruptions,” Mr Carroll said.
“Improved journey planning capabilities will improve travel experiences and provide more predictable journeys once restrictions allow greater freedom of movement,” he said.
Mr Carroll said the new design was developed in response to community feedback and further functionality would be added in the coming months.
“The additions will allow passengers to manage their myki through the app, providing alternatives to queuing for over-the-counter myki transactions or top-up machines,” he said.
“As well as real-time bus and train location information to help passengers know when their service will arrive.”
He said the Department of Transport worked closely with Vision Australia through the design process, and the app would ensure blind and low-vision passengers could use VoiceOver and TalkBack capabilities to help them travel.
Mr Carroll said the Department had also launched the first phase of a trial, set to give passengers information about how busy their train or bus was and help them comply with physical distancing guidelines.
“A small group of public transport users, including essential workers, will participate in the trial across Melbourne’s trains and several bus routes to test predictive modelling technology and passenger counting sensors which will give passengers real-time information about how many people are currently on board or at their train station,” he said.
