Image: ÖBB/Marek Knopp
With the SimplyGo! function integrated in the new ÖBB app! Customers swipe the screen before the start and after the end of the journey and are charged the cheapest ticket for their route on that day. The route driven is determined via GPS tracking and the appropriate public transport tariff is charged on the following day.
The offer is not for “the classic frequent driver and commuter, but for the spontaneous driver,” said Heinz Freunschlag, CEO of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG. This should “make access to public transport even easier and more barrier-free,” stressed Freunschlag. He assured that the new system would work “all over Austria”.
GPS requirement
SimplyGo! is available with the latest update of the ÖBB app, it was already available in the Apple Store on Tuesday, and it should be available in the Google Play Store during the course of the day. GPS must be available at least at the beginning and end of each journey. A ticket is created each time you start a journey. The QR code can be scanned by the inspector or the ticket can be checked via “visual inspection”. At the end of the trip you have to check out.
If you do not check out, you will be reminded via push notification. Anyone who forgets it and continues to walk after a public transport journey, for example, should not pay any more for it – the ÖBB assured that the respective speed profile will recognize whether a journey is made with public transport or not.
A valid credit or debit card must be stored in the app to use the new function. In addition, ÖBB Vorteilscard and Verkehrsverbund annual tickets can be added to the app, so discounts are automatically recorded. The ÖBB emphasized that the tiresome search for the right ticket or the city limits will no longer be necessary in the future. In hindsight, SimplyGo! the best offer from the available standard, single, day and 24-hour tickets, all of which can already be purchased in the ÖBB ticket shop. Not included are night trains, Westbahn, Regiojet or the CAT.
The train has given the graphical interface of the ÖBB app a new, more user-friendly look, according to its own statement, and it has also got a clearer and more intuitive home screen. In addition, among other things, the menu navigation has been simplified and the overview of current and past tickets has been improved, as has the display of the user account.
Source: Nachrichten
