From A to B via the wonderful world of online journey planners

Despite the existence of national journey planners on Google Maps and other websites, many local authorities and event organisers have commissioned their own local journey planning systems. Robert Murray, who leads consultant Steer Davies Gleave’s UK digital design team, explains the thinking behind local journey planners to Andrew Forster, and discusses the firm’s wider activities in the digital world

Andrew Forster

04 September 2015

Whilst we’ve done all these journey planning projects, they’re all evolved significantly. Do something different – that’s what excites us. Robert Murray

A single journey planning website can be designed to work across a range of devices

Twelve months ago the DfT ended its foray into journey planning websites by announcing the immediate closure of Transport Direct. Launched in 2004 and hailed as the world’s first nationwide multi-modal journey planner, Transport Direct served more than 160 million information requests over its ten-year life, though public awareness of the site was suppressed by a mystifying lack of marketing. When closure came, the Government said, in effect, that other travel information systems,...