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If you’ve ever planned a journey using a train ticket app, you’ll know how useful it can be to have your journey information and tickets readily available on your mobile device. No more fumbling for the right piece of paper or wondering if you’re on the right platform, a train journey planner can take the stress out of travelling leaving you free to enjoy your train adventure.
At the same time as enjoying the on-board views or getting on with a bit of work.
Sojo GB route planner can organise your train journey:
- With a single swipe
- To all GB mainline stations
- To all London Underground stations
- With e-tickets and a whole-journey plan
- With real-time updates and delay warnings
But you can’t get everywhere in the UK by train
National Rail departures go to over 2,500 mainline passenger railway stations; stations that can take you right from the heart of our cities to some impressively remote locations, but our train network can’t get you everywhere. It might seem strange to be able to take a train journey to the middle of boggy Rannoch Moor in Scotland but not to bustling Gosport in Hampshire, home to over 81,000 people, but that’s just one of the many quirks of our UK public transport system.
UK bus journeys
The prime minister has recently committed to extending the £2 single bus fare scheme until the end of 2024. This makes adding a bus ride to your train journey or even completing your whole journey by bus an affordable option. But it also adds a whole new layer of information gathering when you’re planning your journey.
And information gathering takes time.
Some train stations have bus stops right outside but plenty of them don’t. In other words, creating a sensible journey plan that doesn’t leave you either waiting around for ages or running for the bus can be complicated, and almost certainly won’t allow for timetable changes or finding the right bus stop.
Sojo GB can plan your combined train and bus journey:
- With a choice of transport combinations
- With up-to-date timetable data
- With accurate timings
- With bus stop location maps
- With real-time updates and delay warnings
But you can’t get everywhere in the UK by public transport
If trains are the veins and arteries of our transport system, local buses are its capillaries. But even these smaller networks can’t drop all of us off exactly where we need to go. In other words, most of us will have a short walk to our destination once we get off the train or bus.
No problem there, it’s always good to get a bit of exercise after a journey. But we all know what it feels like to leave the bus in a completely new town, needing to get somewhere but literally not sure which way to turn. Even if your train and bus were on time, struggling with on-foot navigation could risk making you late.
If you were in the countryside I would always recommend using an Ordnance Survey map but in busy urban areas OS Maps aren’t always as easy to use.
Sojo GB can guide you to your destination:
- With real-time personalised location data
- With a detailed route map
- With average-speed timings
Planning your journey doorstep to doorstep
Joining together all the information isn’t the only problem when you’re planning combined train and bus journeys; if you don’t live next to a train station or bus stop, you’re going to need to factor in a walk at the start of your journey. You don’t want to get the timing wrong and risk missing your train or bus.
That really wouldn’t be a happy start to your day.
Doorstep-to-doorstep journey planning isn’t just important at the start of your journey. How many times have your forgotten to plan your route on foot from your train station or bus stop to the location you’re visiting? Or got off at a station or stop that isn’t the nearest to your destination? We’ve all done it, and we all know little journey errors can add up to big time fluster when you’re trying to get somewhere.
Sojo GB route planner can plan your whole route:
- Showing your current destination
- Linking train, bus and walking options
- Ending exactly where you want to be
- With a detailed route map
- With real-time updates and location information
Sometimes trains and buses just can’t do the job
However good your journey planner, or however keen you are on sustainable transport, buses and trains aren’t always the most practical way for you to get from A to B. To help you make travel choices that will suit your day and circumstances, it’s useful to have all the possible journey information available up front. Here’s an example:
Journey – London Bridge to Brighton Pier
Option A: 1 hour 45 mins – 1 train plus a total of 37 minutes walking
Option B: 1 hour 33 minutes – 1 train, 1 bus plus a total of 34 minutes walking
Option C: 2 hours 39 minutes – 1 car or 1 taxi
Which do you choose? Well, that’s up to you. If you need to move heavy luggage, you might not mind the additional hour’s travel or cost to go by taxi. If it’s a lovely day and you’re travelling light, you might fancy a stroll around Brighton before you meet your friend at the pier.
My top tips on planning a train adventure.
Let Sojo GB give you the planning choices you need:
- With a huge range of journey options
- With timings to help you route plan
- With train ticket purchases
- With real-time information
What if my journey doesn’t go to plan?
You’re halfway through your journey and sitting on the platform. Everything has gone well so far but then you hear the announcement. Your train has been cancelled.
You need to make a quick decision.
Do you wait with everyone else for the replacement bus? Do you head up to the bus station to find a local bus alternative? Do you cut your losses and book a taxi?
We all know the scenarios; leaves on the line, floods on the roads, delays at the stations; no journey is completely immune to the possibility of issues but having instant, real-time information to hand can help you make the right choices when it comes to selecting alternative transport.
Especially if all that information is available in the same app.
Let Sojo GB get you out of a sticky situation
- With onward journey suggestions
- With local bus timings
- With walking distances
- With taxi quotes
- With cycling routes and distances
Public transport is a sustainable journey option
In the UK, the transport sector emits more carbon dioxide than any other sector, which means how we choose to travel really matters if we want to help make a positive impact on climate change. The statistics depend on vehicle occupancy, type and age but government figures suggest that for each kilometre, a car with four passengers will emit a similar amount of carbon dioxide to a train, which will usually be carrying far more people.
But car versus train isn’t the whole story. Across the UK our train lines form a fabulous city-to-city network, and the arguments for replacing domestic flights with train journeys is strong. Domestic flights not only emit 92g more CO2 than train trips, but they also create issues with high altitude non-CO2 emissions. (GOV.UK 2022)
If all of that doesn’t persuade you to give train travel a try, just think about all that window-view scenery you miss out on when you drive up the motorway or sit on a plane.
Not to mention getting stuck in traffic jams or airport security queues.
Organise your journey at the same time as saving money
Google ‘route planner’ and you’ll find plenty of apps that do some of the jobs above. Bus route planners, car journey planners, UK wide walking route planners. There are, however, only a few apps that combine all the information you need to get a complete overview of your UK journey options AND give you the option to buy the train tickets you need to make that journey happen.
But even these don’t give you the option to save money on your train fares.
Ticket splitting
Your train tickets may well be the most expensive element in your journey. Ticket splitting reduces the cost of many train journeys and it’s not as complicated as it might sound. By buying a different ticket for each journey section, you can often reduce your train ticket price, especially on longer journeys.
It is possible to do your own ticket splitting research but looking up all the options takes time. Time you might prefer to spend packing or researching your next destination. It’s far simpler and more effective to let a journey app do the hard work for you.
If you’re worried about the impact of delays or cancellations on split train tickets, don’t be. If the train designated in your split ticket journey is delayed, you’ll be able to travel on an alternative train without any additional charge (ask the staff at the station if you are concerned about this). You’ll also be able to claim compensation for your entire journey if any of your trains are cancelled.
Taking the slow route
If you’re not in a hurry, another way to find cheaper train fares is to opt for a slower route. This doesn’t necessarily mean more changes or inconvenience, just more time enjoying those views from the train window. Once again, it’s easier to let an app do this for you then look through all the different journey options yourself.
Using rail cards
Here in the UK, we have a whole range of rail cards, available for a small cost, that can help you save money on your train tickets. There are several different types so it’s worth looking them up to see which might work for you. Below are a few examples including national rail cards and regional rail cards.
- Age-related rail cards like the Senior Railcard or the 16-17 Saver
- Multi-person rail cards like the Family and Friends Railcard or the Two Together Railcard
- The Veterans Railcard and the Disabled Persons Railcard
- The Network Railcard (anyone over 16)
- The Devon and Cornwall Railcard (residents only)
Most rail cards are now available online and in e-card format so it’s easy to use them alongside your Sojo GB e-tickets.
If you’re planning a longer journey but have a regional rail card, your discount will only apply to the section of your journey that is within the designated area. With app-directed ticket splitting this won’t be a problem as your journey will be broken down into appropriate sections.
Let Sojo GB save you money on train fares:
- With up-to-date ticket splitting information
- With slower and faster route pricing options
- With the best use of your national and regional rail cards
- With all the necessary e-tickets and a journey planner
Download Sojo GB today
If your current travel planning app can’t take you anywhere to anywhere, can’t give you a door-to-door journey plan, doesn’t use location data to personalise your trip, or can’t offer the best choice of ticket prices available, you might like to give Sojo GB a go. As you use it, you’ll be able to earn rewards, such as coffee vouchers, for making sustainable transport choices. And you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy these, because Sojo will have already done all the travel-planning work for you.
Download Sojo GB today from Google Play or the App Store.
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