|
Title: Window Seater Post by: bobm on July 02, 2021, 10:22:58 Announced by GWR and Community Rail Network this morning
Quote Window Seater and Community Rail Network win Innovate UK funding to deliver immersive new in-train experience for passengers Window Seater and Community Rail Network are partnering to build a technology that will draw on local stories from communities around the UK and share them through passenger-facing technologies used by train operators. Innovate UK has awarded funding for the Window Seater Community Rail Content Platform to be delivered by the end of 2021, when operators will be able to integrate geolocated Window Seater guides into their on-board experience. A key outcome will be Window Seater guides for ten railway lines in South West England for passengers to enjoy for free. Work will be in collaboration with Great Western Railway (GWR), who will offer support and operational insight. Further guides are planned throughout the UK for 2022. Marcus Allender, Business Development Director at Window Seater, said: “We are delighted to be working directly with the people who know the stories along the railway best – this new tech will allow us to harness the passion and knowledge of these communities, increasing the quality and scalability of our guides. “Improving customer experience, better utilising Community Rail Partnerships and getting people back on trains are all core goals of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, which this project dovetails with perfectly.” Community Rail Network chief executive Jools Townsend said: “As travel opportunities start to open again, within community rail we’re working hard to promote the advantages and joys of sustainable travel by rail. We welcome working in partnership with Window Seater to encourage people to use our railways and explore the tucked-away treasures that can be accessed using community railway lines across GWR’s network – lines where local volunteers and partnerships are working to engage communities alongside the rail industry. “Rail is such a great way for families, day-trippers and holidaymakers to visit the wealth of fantastic destinations we have on offer across the UK: greener, healthier and helping to reduce pollution and congestion within local communities. We hope this project will encourage more people to travel and discover more by rail.” GWR Business Assurance director Joe Graham said: “We’re really excited to support this innovative new project, which will help to further enhance the journey experience for our customers and bring ‘alive’ some of the wonderful locations on our network. “We’re especially pleased to be working in collaboration with Community Rail Network and Window Seater to help deliver this project. GWR has ten Community Rail Partnerships on our network, covering some of the UK’s key holiday routes such as Devon and Cornwall, South and West Wales, Dorset, the West of England and the Cotswolds. “We are very proud of the work they do. They have great local knowledge and I know that they will help make the content of the audio guides topical, relevant and exciting.” What is Window Seater? Window Seater connects rail travellers to the world outside their window, providing high quality geolocated audio stories which link all the fascinating features along the railway. The Window Seater app is available on Android and Apple stores and Window Seater’s content will soon be available to integrate with rail organisations’ own apps and customer interfaces. What will be the benefits of the Window Seater Community Rail Content Platform? At a critical point for rail, it will allow: • Rail organisations and Train Operating Companies (TOCs) a cost-effective way to improve customer experience and attract leisure travellers. • Post-Covid, an innovative and engaging new way to bring passengers back to rail. • Community rail partnerships (CRPs) to showcase local stories and use them to better connect rail passengers to their communities. Title: Re: Window Seater Post by: eightonedee on July 02, 2021, 11:33:35 It sounds like a good idea - but why this incomprehensible jargon?
Quote immersive new in-train experience Quote integrate geolocated Window Seater guides into their on-board experience Quote Window Seater’s content will soon be available to integrate with rail organisations’ own apps and customer interfaces. I think it means that you can get an app that will enable you to hear the material about the places you are passing on your mobile phone, which you will access via the operating company's website. Presumably it will not also be a running commentary on the public address system! Title: Re: Window Seater Post by: IndustryInsider on July 02, 2021, 11:36:40 Sounds like a nice idea. Might even get the odd teenager to glance up from their phone and out of the window at some point in their journey. :)
Title: Re: Window Seater Post by: ChrisB on July 02, 2021, 11:55:39 As it can only be accessed by geolocator on your phone, I fail to see how/why it can described as
Quote "an innovative and engaging new way to bring passengers back to rail" It might well assist in educating travellers while en-route, but I can't see many thinking "oooh, I must go & listen to what Window Seater can tell me" And....can it be banned in the quiet coach or only work if you've got headphones in? I can honestly see a fair number trying to listen with their sound on. Good idea, needing further thought. And what about access for the hard of hearing? Does the app give you everything in text on your screen? Title: Re: Window Seater Post by: grahame on July 02, 2021, 12:00:32 Presumably it will not also be a running commentary on the public address system! Now that would be ironic in view of another ongoing discussion on the forum. It sounds like a good idea - but why this incomprehensible jargon? "Guided tour telling you about the line and where you are going" - if that's what I can gather from the text, but I find the announcement hard to read too. I put the text of it through some readability tests online ... https://readable.com/text/ Quote Results Score Text D ReadablePro Rating 13.2 Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 14.9 Gunning Fog Index 1046 Syllable Count 607 Word Count 28 Sentence Count 24 Paragraph Count 5 Spelling Errors 10 Grammar Errors 57 Readability and Quality Issues Understanding those, in turn, is not easy ... Quote Gunning Fox Index score of 7 or 8 is ideal, and anything higher than 12 is too complex for most people to read. and on Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Quote 30.0–10.0 College graduate Very difficult to read. Best understood by university graduates. Excellent idea if I understand the verbal forest correctly - we did a guided tour/talk on the TransWilts back on 2018 for Community Rail folks headed for the Great Western Community Rail Dinner and Conference and it was a great success that could be built on. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |