NS Seat Finder app on route to us all (if you pardon the pun)
Before work has even begun, you’re pressed up against the train door or awkwardly standing on the train stairs (trying not to fall down them every time the train twists and turns). Or even worse, you’re stood in the corridor NEXT to the seats, annoying everyone. Well, there may be a solution to this.
NS is launching a brand new seat finder app (“zitplaatszoeker”), so NS passengers know where the seats are. Passengers tend to congregate in one area. Most people come up the stairs and wait right ahead on the platform, leaving some of the other carriages having spare seats, while the rest of us fools are squashed at the other end. This app will show you where the seats are, and are colour coded.
Wow…what a game changer
So, how does it work?
Here is the cool part. The app makes use of the train track sensors, which shows the weight distribution on each carriage (used for freight transport). The app then uses this information to measure how many people are in each carriage. CO2 levels is also another area NS is looking to go down, to determine passenger quantity. This will be shown to users with “green, yellow and orange” colour coding, to show the passenger where may be less busy. This is also excellent for anyone who may have anxiety around being trapped in busy places, as although you may not necessarily get a seat, you could still be in a less hectic carriage.
The only issue is if you’re already crammed in, it’s not so easy to move between carriages. You’re going to have to be prepared. Prepare for us all to be glued at our phones as the train pulls in (as if we aren’t all anyway). 😉
When and where?
It’s not out indefinitely yet, but a trial is beginning between Arnhem and Den Bosch soon.
Pretty cool, huh? The future of not moaning at NS may be in sight (aha, maybe).
What do you think of this new app? Will you be using it? Let us know in the comments!
