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| Photo courtesy to China Business Network |
Crowds encompass the information board and confused passengers go back and forth—a common scene at train stations in the UK, as locals struggle to figure out the best ticket option. It is even more confusing for foreigners.
To make buying a train ticket in the UK easier, Ctrip, a Chinese provider of travel services, rolled out a money-saving app for the UK market called TrainPal, which recommends the cheapest options to the travelers with no booking fee.
TrainPal splits one major ticket into two tickets and automatically recommend the best ticket options for customers through algorithm. The split tickets can save 30-40% ticket fares on average for customers. Also, TrainPal has a website beside app for better localization in Britain market.
“It saves me over 20 pound per return trip. That’s incredible!” a TrainPal user commented on the Google Play Store.
The country’s railways are frequently criticized for being “the most expensive, least comfortable and the least efficient transportation system in Europe,” Daily Mail reported. In addition, crowded ticket purchase channels and floating ticket prices create an even more stressful situation for travelers.
“We provide a Chinese solution to the British customers, and it’s going better than expected,” said Amy Wei, CEO of TrainPal.
The TrainPal craze followed a recommendation on a famous British television series called “The Gadget Show.” Demand was so high at first that TrainPal’s servers crashed. It was the top app both in the UK and Ireland for the next two weeks.
China is known for its rising transportation capacity, especially railway. Meanwhile, the country is upgrading its ticket purchasing channels, both offline and online. Thus, China knows how to develop and optimize ticket purchasing services for travelers, as you can see every year during the annual Spring Festival travel rush.
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