The Network Changes module allows you to communicate recent and planned network changes to customers, such as changes to timetables or suspension of services. Notices are displayed alongside the affected service on the line list and timetables (on web) and the line list on mobile, when the planned change is set to be effective within a 14 day window of the date of the change.
Planned network change notices are created in Passenger Cloud separately from any TXC or line asset changes to provide flexibility over which changes you want to notify or promote.
How the planned network change notice is displayed varies depending on the time the customer views the change, as follows:
Planned changes to service schedules
Customers will be shown notices of any planned schedule changes 14 days in advance, then 7 days after the change is effective. Tapping the notice will display any additional information.
Planned service suspension
Customers will be shown notices of a planned service suspension 14 days in advance only. Tapping the notice will display any additional information.
Passenger Cloud
Network changes are managed in Passenger Cloud under the Network changes module in the Network section.
Creating a network change
- Before creating a planned network change notice, you should first upload any PDF line assets (if you have them) into the existing asset tool as usual.
Next, create a new Network change from the Network > Network changes module.
Add in a Title and detailed explanation as you would like it to appear. Customers will see this text in websites and apps when they click the change notice.
Select the effective from date. Important Note: this needs to match with the Line assets ‘effective from’ date.
Select the line or lines that this change affects. Please note, you can select multiple lines from the list at once. If you wish to deselect a line or operator, simply click the "X" next to that line or operator name in the input field above the list. In addition, you can also type in the input box to filter the list of options to make it easier to find the desired option.
If the line or lines are to be suspended, click the box. Note this will enable a notice for 14 days in advance of the service suspension. You should provide the relevant TransXchange files as usual.
Click Create to activate the notice.
Finally, you should continue to upload TransXChange files that reflect any changes to operations or timetables.
Managing network changes
To make it easier to find and manage existing network change notices in Passenger Cloud, we have added a summary of the affected lines to the table, as well as separated past changes into a dedicated tab.
Adding a summary of lines to the table will assist in finding the correct change notice should it need to be amended or removed.
The first few affected lines are displayed with an indication if there are more. Navigating into the change notice will display all lines affected by that change.
Separating past changes into a dedicated tab will ensure that over time the list stays manageable and upcoming or current changes remain in focus.
Travel Alerts
If an operator has Travel Alerts enabled for their app, users with Travel Alerts enabled will receive notifications of scheduled network changes related to their favourite lines and stops. Travel Alert notifications for scheduled network changes are sent at midday, two days before a Network Change notice is due to effect, alerting users to an upcoming planned network event. This timeframe balances giving riders enough time to plan their journeys without providing a notice period so long that it might be forgotten. Midday was chosen as it falls within sociable hours and avoids peak travel times when riders may be less attentive.
The travel alert notification will only show the title of the change. Users can then tap the notification to be taken into the app to view more information about the network change.