Mobile Computing News

Photo: Apple

The iPod’s tube applications have already made navigating the tube and getting your train on time a whole lot easier for many tube transport users, but now a new app is set to take things a step further: it allows you to get a refund on tube tickets, in a process that would previously have involved a whole lot of forms to be filled out and administration to be completed.

What’s it replacing?

The Tube Refund App allows Londoners to claim refunds for tube tickets that they haven’t been able to use due to various problems that tend to arise with tube transport, from strikes to track closures. The usual method for making these claims is to fill out a refund application when tube trains were more than 15 minutes late, but taking advantage of this service was often too tedious a process to complete every time it happened. This iPhone app should change that all for the better.

How does it work?

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The iPhone app allows users to fill out the same forms that they would have used previously, but by storing user details and filling out the forms automatically for them, it makes the process a lot quicker and easier. An added bonus is that travellers won’t be wasting time while they’re delayed – they’ll be using it to fill out refund forms from their mobiles.

The iPhone’s London Tube app

London Tube is an application that’s already been improving the tube transport system for Londoners for some time now. Its uses include showing users where disrupted lines are, and the number of lines that are disrupted at any given time, and showing the tube routes. It can still provide notifications when the application is closed by working in the background of the iPhone, keeping its user informed about the little disruptions that could throw off a whole day’s schedule if left unnoticed.

Getting it

Photo: Apple

Downloading the app works just like downloading any other iPhone application, and costs only 59p – a cost that any regular tube transport user frequently spends on tickets that go unused. As well as working on iPhones, the app can also be used on an iPod touch. One thing to keep in mind is that the app only supports Oyster and Travelcard at the moment, but that looks set to change in coming months, so tube transport users might want to keep an eye out for National Rail Functionality.

Is it worth it?

If this all sounds like a silly idea, this fact might change that: the creators of the refund app have said that around 1,996 delays took place on the London tube last year. It’s not likely that this is the kind of app that will be wasted, and it’s probably the only one that’ll actually make back the price paid for it. If the idea just doesn’t appeal, and for those who don’t own iPhones, the option remains to fill out the form online from a PC.