State of the Art Analysis of Pendelkollen

The Pendelkollen app
Pendelkollen is a smart-phone app developed specifically for commuters. The app is centered around a set of saved travel routes that the user specifies. Time of day and week day(s) is also set. For each such route, the app provides detailed information about departures, delays and crowdedness. This helps the user make a more informed choice as to what specific train to catch.

The app is fed information from already existing GPS and wheel-axis pressure sensors on the trains. The existing traffic information systems are used as well.[3]

Who uses the service?
The app has been available since March 2014 and received rather wide coverage in IT-related media.
However, as of November 2015, only less than 5 per cent of all search results on Google for "pendelkollen" are from the last year - somewhat suggesting that public interest faded over time. The app seems to be currently unavailable from the Android and Apple app stores. We're still investigating the cause of this.

We have not found the actual usage statistics.

What works well?
That app gives straight forward and seemingly accurate information on saved routes. The app combined with the integrated push notice system seem to work well for e.g. daily commuters. The interface is easy to use (based on looking at a video demo).[1]

What doesn't work?
The app is limited to the Pendeltåg train system, and is available only the modern X60 cars.[2] The end user has of course a need for this service on all types of public transport - including buses.

The main UI issue is that routes have to be saved in advance, which makes it cumbersome to use for one-off trips as well as re-routing a trip in the event of a delay. (It has to be stressed that we've not been able to test the actual app, so this is conjecture.)

References
[1] "http://feber.se/mobil/art/295359/hll_koll_p_pendeltgen_i_stockh/" on 2015-11-08.
[2] "http://www.pendelkollen.se/faq/" on 2015-11-08.
[3] "http://computersweden.idg.se/2.2683/1.550449/trangt-pa-pendeln-nu-far-du-hjalp-att-valja-vagn" on 2015-11-08.

Acknowledgements
Thanks to Elisabeth and Sofie for helping out with researching the app (notes summarized in an internal document).