London Tube Status review

Navigating London’s labyrinthine transport network isn’t easy at the best of times but during rush hour it can be a complete nightmare – even to veteran residents of our nation’s capital.

The Tube network is a particularly confusing mess at times; constructed what seems like an eternity ago, it’s near impossible to interpret the twisting maze of different lines unless you happen to ride on the tube on a daily basis. Even then, you’re at the mercy of the system’s temperamental reliability.

London Tube Status is an app which attempts to alleviate the headache of travelling via the underground. The main menu displays the 11 main lines that make up the entire Tube network – from Bakerloo to Waterloo & City – and offers at-a-glance information on each line’s current state of health. Events such as planned closures are highlighted, as are potential delays.

Clicking one of the lines displays all of the stations on that line, and clicking one of these offers a more detailed breakdown of all the trains passing through that particular point. It even gives the approximate time of arrival of the next train at that platform.

You can event enable a widget which is placed on your home screen and gives live information about relevant departures, which is a neat touch if you use a regular route to and from work.

Using the app is easy – there are no long-winded menu structures to get lost in and everything is colour-coded for easy recognition. There’s no map available, which is a shame but not a complete deal-breaker.

Something that will prove irksome is the fact that this app naturally requires a constant internet connection to ensure you get all of the latest information relating to each route, and as any London resident will tell you getting a signal on the underground isn’t always easy. Bearing this in mind, it makes sense to use the app to plan your route when you’re above ground rather than relying on it when you’re actually stood on the platform.

Another issue we experienced was the application’s worrying penchant for crashing during use – hopefully this is something that the developer can remedy with future updates. As it stands London Tube Status is a handy program to have on your phone, but it is somewhat limited by the fact that it’s difficult to use when you’re below ground – which is arguably when you need it most.

London Tube Status info

Ease of use:
Value:
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Overall

Platform: iPhone/iPod touch

Price: Free

Version: 1.0.7

Developer: Pete C

Website/Demo: N/A