CHRISTOPHER CARTER can see Stagecoach buses from his window, but an initial road test of the group’s new mobile phone app suggests that they do not exist — and that at this early stage in its existence the fares information is less comprehensive than it should be
The new Stagecoach Bus app — available free on Apple and Android smartphones — is part of the group’s major investment in its digital strategy, which it says ‘is transforming the journey experience for customers’.
A year ago, it launched ‘a transformational new responsive mobile website’ with what it calls the UK’s first nationwide online bus planning service with live service updates and enabling travel to be bought direct from smartphones.
While I still believe in quality printed timetables — preferably covering local networks — that should be readily available with route and network maps plus fares information included, I do also recognise the equal importance of technology and regularly search online for updates or information where printed material is unavailable and ahead of trips beyond my home in Torbay.
Having only upgraded to a basic smart phone three years ago, I had yet to delve into the plethora of apps available, though my daughters extol their virtues.
