ScotRail App Woes Could Last Until Christmas, Executive Admits

Problems with the ScotRail ticket app, which cost £83 million, may persist until Christmas, the chief executive of the nationalized rail firm has admitted. Joanne Maguire told members of the Scottish Parliament's transport committee that the technology "hasn't been good enough."

The app, launched at the end of July during ScotRail's busiest week since public ownership, has faced significant criticism. Within ten days of its launch on July 30, approximately 3,000 complaints were received. Maguire acknowledged, "We let our passengers down."

Reported faults include the app incorrectly billing customers for two single tickets instead of a return journey, doubling the cost, and misidentifying rail trips as "bus replacement" services.

SilverRail Technologies, the firm contracted for the app, won the £83 million, nine-year deal as the only "compliant bidder," according to Maguire. Upon its launch, some travelers experienced issues such as being locked out of their accounts or being unable to purchase tickets.

Maguire stated that while "internal user testing" had been conducted, there was insufficient opportunity to test the app with actual travelers. She thanked passengers for their "patience during this time."

When pressed by committee convener Willie Rennie on whether the problems would be resolved by Christmas, Maguire stated, "I absolutely give this committee my commitment that we are working day in, day out and it will be as early as we possibly can." However, she declined to guarantee a Christmas resolution, leading Rennie to express his lack of confidence in a pre-Christmas fix.

"The launch of the app hasn’t been good enough and for that I apologise," Maguire said. "I apologise to the committee, and I apologise to all of our passengers."

She detailed that "significant challenges" with log-ons occurred on launch day and persisted on several subsequent days. Despite these issues, Maguire asserted that the app is "an investment that will make improvements for our passengers," though these benefits have yet to be realized as the focus remains on "stabilising the day-to-day delivery and operation of the app."

ScotRail is holding daily calls with SilverRail, with additional repeated calls throughout the day. Rennie, a regular ScotRail traveler, shared his own experience of a ticket not appearing on the system and noted seeing other passengers encounter similar difficulties. He expressed disappointment that an up-to-date complaint figure was not available.

Rennie also mentioned SilverRail's history of issues with similar apps for other rail firms. Maguire stated that ScotRail had been "assured" the company had learned from past problems and made improvements.

Earlier in September, reports indicated that the app triggered over 360 passenger complaints in just two days, prompting the establishment of an emergency command center. Rail officials reportedly exchanged approximately 600 emails with SilverRail during that crisis period.

ScotRail currently enforces a £10 minimum fare policy for passengers boarding a train without a pre-purchased ticket when the opportunity to do so was available. Transport Scotland was contacted for comment.