BKK’s journey planner, the FUTÁR app, has been updated to offer more accurate travel information and a wider set of functions to fully assist blind and visually impaired customers and also to include new functionalities requested by users, such as the options to save favourite lines, to display ticket sales points and to access maps offline. The app has been updated on smartphones and tablets where automatic updates are enabled; otherwise, updates are available through the iOS, Android and Windows app stores. The ever popular BKK FUTÁR app with more than 275 thousand daily users enables real-time journey planning and map-based vehicle location. This is the third major update since the application’s launch in 2014.
Users have provided valuable feedback about the BKK FUTÁR application since its launch in the autumn of 2014, assisting in the development and fine-tuning of the real-time journey planner that makes travelling in the city easier and faster. Based on summer data, the app has more than 275 thousand active users. This current update contributes to a better customer experience by the addition of new functionalities and more exact travel data.
Favourite lines
Based on user requests, not only favourite locations and stops but also favourite lines can now be saved and stored and will be displayed on top of the list on the screen showing departure times and services nearby.
Ticket sales point display
Sales points can now be displayed on the map, which is a helpful tool for those who do not have a ticket or pass before starting their journey. The function can be switched on or off and displays the locations and working hours of TVMs, ticket offices, customer service centres, distributors (such as post offices, newsagents etc.), so buying a ticket in the evening or night hours is made easy. The app also calculates with the time required for ticket purchase.
Offline static maps
A new menu item of the app is the collection of maps that are also available on the BKK website at http://bkk.hu/en/maps/ : Budapest and city centre public transport, metro and suburban railway network, daytime and night transport services etc. Maps marked as favourites can be accessed offline, too.
Journey-planning also for blind and visually impaired customers
The BKK FUTÁR app has already been available to blind and visually impaired customers with iOS and Android devices thanks to screen-reader software applications currently on the market, but several screens of the app have not been readable. This update fixes the problem, so that searching for departures and journey-planning become possible with the help of the built-in screen reader function that was tested by blind software developers. On iOS devices the VoiceOver, while on Android systems the TalkBack function needs to be turned on and configured. (No screen reader software is available for Windows devices yet)
More accurate departure times
Thanks to the new BKK FUTÁR algorithm used for calculations, more accurate expected departure times can be shown both via the app and online at futar.bkk.hu. The new algorithm takes into consideration the actual previous journey times on the same route, so that for instance if on a certain route the trip regularly takes longer than is shown in the official timetable, the system will calculate with that and predict longer waiting times.
Updates and links
The BKK FUTÁR app has been updated on smartphones and tablets where automatic updates are enabled; otherwise, updates are available through the iOS, Android and Windows app stores.
Please find the app at the following links:
Source: Press release – BKK
