National Express East Coast’s innovative new website has been awarded a top 5 star rating from the UK’s best selling internet magazine.
The review in the latest issue of ‘Web User’ magazine praises the website’s ease of use, ticket searching options and new lowest fare finder tool “making rail travel easier than ever” and names www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com as its ‘Site of the Fortnight’.
It also highlights new features such as the option to reserve preferred seating options and bicycle spaces, ‘help bubbles’ which guide users through each stage of journey planning and more information on each train service such as connections, catering and station stops en-route.
The Web User reviewer adds that the website is: “Very easy to use and packed with useful content, National Express has clearly gone the extra mile to give its passengers the best experience possible.”
National Express East Coast managing director David Franks, said: “The new website is proving extremely popular with customers and we are delighted that it has now also received a top 5 star rating from the internet experts at Web User magazine. The website is simple, transparent and intuitive to use and has been designed to offer passengers a comprehensive, one-stop shop for planning rail travel, making it easy to find and buy the best value fares.”
Visitors to nationalexpresseastcoast.com can book tickets for travel anywhere on the UK rail network and can take advantage of an exclusive 10% online discount on National Express East Coast’s lowest advance fares.
National Express East Coast is the first train operating company in the UK to introduce its own online booking engine, leading a step-change in ticket retailing for the rail industry.
For the first time, travellers can now search for the best fares available by either train time, fare group or through a new ‘lowest fares finder’ tool which highlights the cheapest rail fare combination available for any given day of travel.
Users can apply for refunds or make changes to their journey online at any time of the day, rather than through the web support call centre.
Content is organised in a manner that is easy to navigate and relevant for customers planning a rail journey, such as destination guides, timetables, exclusive partner discounts, a hotel booking service and reviews.
The website is DDA compliant and has attained Web Accessibility Accreditation from The Shaw Trust, a charity which assesses the usability of websites for disabled users using its own assistive technology testing method.
It is also designed to support new retailing initiatives for the future such as personalised home pages, mobile integration and print at home and mobile phone ticketing.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- The new nationalexpresseastcoast.com website was developed in partnership with international IT services company, Atos Origin, and user-design specialists, Flow Interactive.
- Over a third of National Express East Coast ticket sales are now from online bookings. In the last year, usage of the website has grown by over 80%.
- A dedicated web support team based in National Express East Coast’s call centre in Newcastle provides help and assistance for customers using the new website.