Michal Marek This week, Czech Railways introduced the new mobile application "My Train" for smartphones with iOS and Android operating systems. The application is really loaded with functions and will essentially enable the comprehensive check-in of Czech Railways passengers. The alpha and omega of the application is the search for the ideal connection, but the application will also offer convenient purchasing and storage of tickets. Within the application My train live information about the train is also available. So you will no longer be surprised by any delay, lockout, transfer at the station or an extraordinary situation on the track.
Information about traveling by train is divided into basic logical units in the application for clarity - Connection, Train, Station and Ticket. Navigating the app is really intuitive and the developers have done a good job here. They didn't develop one universal application for both supported platforms, but really created a tailor-made product that reflects the specifics of iOS and has a distinct identity. The nice thing is that different timetable packages can be downloaded to the application and can thus be available even without an internet connection. This can be useful whether you have a low data limit or suffer from poor mobile signal coverage. When searching for a route, you can enter specific transit points or turn on a filter that selects suitable connections for disabled passengers or passengers with bicycles.
After choosing the ideal connection, passengers can purchase a travel document directly in the application environment, which they then present to the train staff for inspection in the form of an Aztec code. However, this option is only available for domestic connections. You can pay for the ticket with a payment card, PaySec virtual wallet or using the MasterCard Mobile application. And this is the Achilles heel of the entire process of buying a ticket through the app My train. Although everything in the application works great and without problems, entering payment information is, in short, a rather lengthy matter, which is all the more annoying if you drive shorter routes and therefore have to pay, for example, 10 crowns with a card.
The competing carrier Student Agency, i.e. Regiojet, solves this problem in a much more practical way and allows the user to pre-pay credit in any amount with a payment card, from which the customer then pays the fare without unnecessary delays. This solution also eliminates the problem of fare cancellation. If you cancel your ticket, the Student Agency does not need to transfer the money back to your account in a complicated way, it will only return your previously purchased credit. However, Czech Railways is aware of the problem and is planning to introduce its own credit system in the future.
According to Czech Railways, the application was created for approximately one and a half years. So it is tuned enough and works great on iPhones. At least on the older ones. The developers have not yet had time to react to the arrival of new iPhones with a larger screen, and the application does not look the best, especially on the iPhone 6 Plus. Apparently, the developers were also surprised by the arrival of iOS 8 and the support for widgets. So widgets My train it's missing on iPhones, although Android users have several to choose from. However, the ČD representatives interviewed here also promised a remedy, although it is not clear in what time interval it should come.
Application My train it is in the App Store and you can download it free. Android users who download the application in their Google Play will also benefit. My train Windows Phone and Blackberry versions are also planned, but won't appear until sometime between 2015 and 2016.
[app url=https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/muj-vlak/id839519767?mt=8]
This is an example of an application where a lot of thought was probably put into its development. I like the details like the weather forecast at the destination station in the Boarding Portal view and the descriptions of the alternate transport stops.
To our satisfaction, only the station maps are missing:
– where exactly is the international checkout counter?
– where should I go to get an in-card?
– where is the luggage storage?
– how do I get to an alternative transport stop through an unknown station?
They could negotiate with Google (I don't know if Apple Maps can now also navigate inside buildings) and make indoor maps such as those for airport terminals.
nice ideas - send them to them
It was about time. The app looks really good. It would still like to mention InKarta in the article. I looked here and it's there, it's just a little "buried". The person must be logged in to the system for verification and select it under the "identity card" button when choosing a payment...
But otherwise fine. It can be seen that it was not done by amateurs.
It's a shame that there won't be something like this in Slovakia soon :(
I also like the app, I would just like a faster purchase of travel tickets according to pre-filled templates (I don't understand why I should constantly enter that I am an adult, that I want a discount on the card and also constantly fill in the number of the card, I think it would be difficult to preset). And it would be the absolute best thing if they included a passbook in the game. And it would be great if she didn't have to drag herself around and show the plastic card and everything was on her phone.
how do you handle ticket purchases for family members? via m.cd.cz it was simple, I simply filled in the OP, the name and email of the son/daughter and the ticket was delivered to them straight away, if they were in a hurry I could simply send the link of the created ticket via Hangouts... it gets quite complicated in the application, the email cannot be changed , is linked to my account so I have to forward it manually, and it is also not possible to share the ticket via hangouts (unless I take a screenshot of the screen :-) ... yes, the application is faster than the website, but this makes using it quite complicated.
it's a shame ... for this reason, even though I like the mobile application, I only have to use m.cd.cz ... the mobile version of the website, which is written in such a way that this can be done. I can even buy a ticket for my daughter and send it directly to her calendar, so she will be reminded of the ticket in the calendar event attachment before she leaves.
Perhaps they will maintain the application better than the Czech Post. Also written on the taxpayer's dime...
and WP nothing?