The creation of Transport Direct

Transport Direct was originally conceived as part of the government’s 10 year plan in 2000 to provide citizens and businesses better access to information and government services. From the theme of "NHS Direct" came Transport Direct as the means of providing travel and transport information to citizens in order that they can make intelligent travel decisions . Transport Direct was created as a division within the Department for Transport, with additional funding from the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government; its mission was encapsulated in the "Transport Ten Year Plan 2000", which outlined four strategic objectives to:

• Encourage and stimulate each passenger transport sector to develop high quality and accurate information and retailing systems;
• Enable transport operators and retailers to develop integrated information and ticket sales for journeys involving more than one mode of transport, including, in the long term, how to get to public transport points by car;
• Create a web Portal to enable users to find all available electronic travel information from a wide range of sources and electronic ticket retailers;
• Deliver Transport Direct as an integrated and comprehensive information service for all travel modes and mode combinations, which allows the user to submit their selection to an electronic retailer without re-keying the enquiry.

From the outset, Transport Direct created a strong governance structure including a Chief Executive, Nick Illsley, from the rail industry, an independent Chairman, Sir Malcolm Field, and two key "boards". The Advisory Board, comprising senior executives from the transport industry, helped to set the overall direction. The Sounding Board, consisting of operational personnel from the transport industry, addressed the tactical challenges that inevitably arise in such a large data and service integration programme.

Delivering the Transport Direct Portal

In December 2002, a consortium led by Atos Origin (formerly Schlumberger Sema) was awarded the contract to design, build and operate the Transport Direct Portal, which will be the main point of access to the information provided by Transport Direct.

The first build of the Transport Direct Portal was completed on time in November 2003. Transport Direct Portal uses data and services from over 200 organisations and through 2004 these data and services were fully integrated into the Transport Direct Portal, which was:

• Made available to stakeholders and key opinion formers in July 2004 in order to assess the quality of the service and the readiness for a full public launch;
• Officially launched by the Secretary of State for Transport, on 31 December 2004.

The Transport Direct Portal is the only website that offers free information for door-to-door travel for both public transport and car journeys around Great Britain. Our aim is to provide a quick and easy to use journey planner, which generates comprehensive and easy to follow travel information.

Transport Direct was a "world first", delivering unique services to the travelling public in Great Britain, so that they could:

• Obtain journey options from door to door – Connecting people to places;
• Obtain a car route that takes into account predicted traffic levels at different times of the day so that you can make informed decisions about when to travel;
• Compare public transport and car journey options;
• Get an estimate of the cost of a car journey, including ferry and toll charges where appropriate;
• Obtain up-to-the-minute travel information for both road and rail.

New channels

A reduced set of the Transport Direct Portal services was delivered through mobile and television.

• Launched in 2005 you can get services on a PDA or mobile phone, using the latest browser technology (WAP2.0) over a GPRS, 3G or Wi-Fi connection;
• In 2010 Directgov launched a free ‘Travel News’ app for iPhones and Android phones, using Transport Direct data. You can use the app to search for travel news on trains, roads, tubes, ferries and trams. You will get detailed information about the type of delay, areas affected and incident severity. Results are displayed using Google maps;
• The "Looking Local" services provided by DigiTV through interactive television via BSkyB, cable and Freeview set-top boxes with a modem or broadband connection; and
• In 2009 the Transport Direct journey planner was also made available through Directgov interactive television.

The reduced set of services has been tailored to meet the specific requirements of users of these channels:

• Scheduled and expected (up-to-the-minute) arrival and departure times for rail stations;
• Station information, listing the phone numbers for taxi and/or cab (private hire car) firms serving that station;
• Scheduled arrival and departure times for bus stations and stops;
• Travel news, which lists both current incidents and planned events that can affect or delay journeys.

Tips on how effectively to use these services on a PDA can be found on the "Mobile/PDA" service on the "Tips and Tools" section of the Transport Direct Portal website. Equivalent services are also provided through Directgov’s "journey planner" mobile service. Other third-parties have provided Transport Direct Portal services through kiosks.

New services

Since its launch in 2004, Transport Direct has added many new services and features to the Transport Direct Portal and enhanced and improved others. Please refer to our ‘Features and what’s new on Transport Direct‘ section.

From the outset, usability and accessibility was an intrinsic part of the Transport Direct Portal design. The Transport Direct Portal was further enhanced in 2006 to accommodate the wider range of services and provide easier access from the home page to the core door-to-door and live travel news services.