14. Using Transport Direct services on your PDA/Mobile/Digital TV
14.1) How can I use the latest PDAs or mobile phones to find out the departure and arrival times for railway stations throughout Britain and for some bus or coach stops in areas where SMS codes are available for the bus or coach stop?
14.2) How can I use the latest PDAs or mobile phones to view Live travel news for public transport or car (e.g. check for delays and incidents) either for a region or for the whole of Britain?
14.3) How can I use the latest PDAs or mobile phones to find out whether there is a taxi rank or cab (private hire car) firm at the railway station I am travelling to, and get phone numbers for taxi and cab firms serving the station?
14.4) How can I access Transport Direct on digital television?
14. Using Transport Direct services on your PDA/Mobile/Digital TV
14.1) How can I use the latest PDAs or mobile phones to find out the departure and arrival times for railway stations throughout Britain and for some bus or coach stops in areas where SMS codes are available for the bus or coach stop?
You can learn how to use these services on a PDA by using the PDA simulator which can be found on the "Tips & tools" page, reached by clicking the tab at the top of the website.
On a PDA or mobile phone using the latest browser technology (WAP2.0) over a GPRS or a 3G connection you can get scheduled arrival and departure times and in some cases provide the expected arrival or departure times for rail stations.
- You need to enter either the name of the station or stop or the location code for where you are departing from, arriving at or enter both the arrival and departure locations/codes.
- It is always quicker to use the location code for the station or stop you are travelling to or from.
- For stations and airports these are always three letter codes such as BHM for Birmingham New Street, or CLJ for Clapham Junction.
- For bus and coach stops, the codes are the seven or eight character SMS codes that you can find on the bus stops.
- You can then choose to view times for:
- The current time
- The first service tomorrow
- The last service of today or tomorrow
- Specify a time for today or tomorrow.
14.2) How can I use the latest PDAs or mobile phones to view Live travel news for public transport or car (e.g. check for delays and incidents) either for a region or for the whole of Britain?
You can learn how to use these services on a PDA by using the PDA simulator which can be found on the "Tips & tools" page, reached by clicking the tab at the top of the website.
On a PDA or mobile phone using the latest browser technology (WAP2.0) over a GPRS or a 3G connection click on the ‘Travel news’ link.
The page will be set to show information for the UK initially. However, if you have just looked up travel times for a station or stop it will default to show the information for only that region.
The page will list both current incidents and planned events that can affect or delay journeys, such as traffic accidents, road works, etc. You can tailor the information so that it is of interest to you by selecting options from the drop-down lists.
14.3) How can I use the latest PDAs or mobile phones to find out whether there is a taxi rank or cab (private hire car) firm at the railway station I am travelling to, and get phone numbers for taxi or cab firms serving the station?
You can learn how to use these services on a PDA by using the PDA simulator which can be found on the "Tips & tools" page, reached by clicking the tab at the top of the website.
To get details about departures and/or arrivals for a station or between two stations see FAQ 14.1 above.
On a PDA (using the latest browser technology (WAP2.0) over a GPRS or a 3G connection), when you have the results for arrivals and/or departures you will need to click on the name of the station you want to find out about in your results – this will take you to ‘Station information’ where phone numbers for taxi and/or cab (private hire car) firms serving the station are listed.
On a mobile phone (using the latest browser technology (WAP2.0) over a GPRS or a 3G connection), the results page will list the station(s) you requested travel times for at the top of the page. These stations can be clicked to show ‘Station information’ where phone numbers for taxi and/or cab (private hire car) firms serving the station are listed. If you click on the times in the results you will see a page that displays all the stations the service stops at. These station names can also be clicked to find out phone numbers for taxi and/or cab (private hire car) firms serving the stations.
14.4) How can I access Transport Direct on digital television?
Transport Direct is available via digital TV on Sky, cable and freeview boxes provided they have a modem or broadband telephone connection. Using your remote control you can access ‘real-time’ train information and bus timetables as well as the latest transport and traffic news from the comfort of your sofa. See our ‘Tips and tools’ section for further information.