As promised, GoMetro is rolling out its traveller information system to railway commuters in the Eastern Cape. The Cape Town startup has a partnered with Metrorail Eastern Cape to become a digital resource for the 40 000 train users of East London and Port Elizabeth.
GoMetro’s service delivers train schedules, updates, announcements and other important information to commuters’ mobile phones. Commuters can also access a trip planner, fare calculator as well as general information like line maps. Updates detailing delays or breaks in service will be posted regularly from the Metrorail Control Centre. This service will eventually replace the SMS line that is currently in place in the Eastern Cape.
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Richard Walker, regional manager, confirms that the lack of readily available passenger information has been a longstanding concern amongst commuters: ‘An analysis of customer concerns and feedback indicate the need for instant access to timetables, fares and other travel information – which our customers can now readily access on their mobiles’.
Justin Coetzee, founder of Go Metro, believes that Go Metro puts Metrorail Eastern Cape on a par with transportation services around the world. He said, “After implementing the system in the Western Cape and Gauteng, we are very excited about bringing this essential service to the commuters of the Eastern Cape – real-time public transport information that puts the commuter directly in touch with Metrorail’s Control Centre operators. As a regular Metrorail commuter, I wanted a mobile tool that would tell me what time my train would be at my platform. In the last 18 months, we have developed a mobi-site that provides real-time Metrorail train departure times to smartphones and feature-phone.”
The launch is an expansion of GoMetro’s current services that are used daily by Gauteng and Western Cape train commuters. The service is live in the Eastern Cape from Wednesday, 29 May.
