Dhe Deutsche Bahn will fundamentally revise its passenger app, the so-called “DB Navigator”. The group announced that the switch to the new version will take place in November.
The navigator is a given for many travelers delays and cancellations has become an important digital tool in rail traffic, because platform changes, changed wagon sequences, delays and cancellations can not only usually be read there, but passengers can also look for alternative connections.
The app has already been downloaded a total of 60 million times, and around one billion requests for connections are made via the navigator on a smartphone every year.
But so far there has also been a lot of dissatisfaction with the app: In particular, the user guidance and lack of clarity are often criticized. The railways have now been working on this and there will actually be some improvements.
Anyone who wants to try out the new design and the new app before the official launch in autumn can download it now from the App Store under the name “Next DB Navigator”.
However, the name will only be changed for the transitional period, from November it will remain “DB Navigator”. The railway also promises users that they do not have to do anything actively to use the new version from autumn, it will be automatically updated on the users’ smartphones.
There is a clear improvement in the display of the car order. Especially for travelers with luggage, it is extremely annoying if you have to go through the entire moving train with your suitcase to get into the right car where the reserved seat is located. Up to now, the DB Navigator has been able to display the actual sequence of the cars, but this function was extremely hidden.
Simplifications in the new version
So far, you first have to go to the “My Trip” page, open the travel plan there, then click on a small symbol with “ABC” at the top right below the display of the current departure track, and only then will the car sequence be displayed.
In the new version, this is much easier: If you have saved a connection under “Travel” that you want to use, there will be a clearly visible “Train information” button in the future.
If you click on it, you not only get the current car sequence directly displayed, the train also indicates the direction of travel of the train and explains which car has quiet and family areas, where train bonus customers can find a reserved seat and which one Toilets are also suitable for the disabled.
In future, alternative connections should also be displayed directly under “Travel” in the new version if the originally booked train Tardiness has or fails completely. There you will also automatically see if the train connection with saver tickets has been canceled due to a delay, so that you can use another train.
Deutsche Bahn has also invested in the new version of the navigator because from next year the renovation of the core rail network started, which will lead to even more construction sites and delays on the rails. It is therefore important to provide passengers with even more up-to-date information about delays, cancellations, platform changes and other obstacles.
However, some errors in the previous navigator have not been corrected in the new app either. Although you can register as a user of the app with your data and your own BahnCard, the timetable information does not automatically recognize that the traveler has a discount card. The user must continue to set this manually, at least when buying a ticket for the first time.
But not only the user interface of the app should be changed. Deutsche Bahn also promises to be able to use artificial intelligence to provide more accurate forecasts for delays in the future.
“For better delay information, we calculate forecasts for delays on departure and arrival every minute: there are now around 150 million forecasts every day,” explains a DB spokeswoman. Interactions between trains would also be taken into account, for example in single-track sections. ”However, the spokeswoman could not answer how much more precise the forecasts are made by the data analysis.
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