Covid-Safe Travel Challenge

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What was the the covid-safe travel challenge?

We worked with the Mayor of London to design and deliver the Mayor’s Resilience Fund which included two phases:

Open call for local authorities, government agencies and charities in London to partner with us as problem-holders (2020)
Designed and delivered 10 city-based challenges (2021)

The Mayor’s Resilience Fund was funded by the London Economic Action Partnership.

What was this challenge about?

Create a digital tool that sources and integrates health and travel data with up-to-date guidance and advice to help Londoners make informed decisions and personal risk assessments in relation to COVID-19.

Where was it focused?

London-wide

Who were the end users?

All Londoners who have access to digital technology and who remain economically active at a variety of levels of restrictions. The use of such a tool will grow as restrictions are eased and more Londoners increase their economic activity.

This challenge was delivered by Challenge Works in partnership with

Who won the Challenge?

The Aubin Journey Planner by JNCTION, a door-to-door journey planner and companion app, won the Challenge. It empowers people to travel confidently when using public transport during Covid.

The finalists

Travel Safe London by Zipabout

Zipabout will provide a simple, free to use, information system to help people safely navigate around crowding, transport and health-led disruption when moving around London.

TravelSpace by Ten Transport Consultancy

TravelSpace is an overlay booking system that gives passengers virus safety support by providing the information needed to make safe decisions around public transport and to reduce crowding at stations and onboard services.

The Aubin Journey Planner by JNCTION

Aubin is a new door-to-door journey planner and companion app which empowers people to travel confidently when using public transport during Covid.

Background information

London has been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic both in terms of case numbers and social and economic effects. Since the start of the pandemic London has had more cases than any other region in England and the highest rates per population.
There are specific challenges for people who live and work in London: higher rates of public transport use and higher population density mean that Londoners are likely to have a greater number of contacts in their day to day lives. Evidence has shown that certain demographic groups are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection and complications, including a disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Londoners from black and minority ethnic groups.
Across London’s boroughs, there are a variety of COVID-19 infection data available, and travel and busyness data available such as through TfL Go. However, there is no easy and accessible way for Londoners to plan their journey – for example, to work or to the shop – that integrates local health data with travel data and up-to-date guidance on risk to enable them to make informed decisions around essential travel and tasks.
There are multiple data sources that could be utilised to address this challenge, including local COVID-19 case data, busyness data and London Transport data, that are open source.
This tool should support Londoners who continue to be economically active under periods of high-tier restrictions (e.g. within the construction sector) to do so safely and to support all Londoners to engage in safer economy activity during periods of lessened restrictions. This will facilitate the safe re-opening of London’s economy by enabling Londoners to access up-to-date information about COVID-19 rates, travel, and health guidance.

About the Resilience Partner

The Greater London Authority, or City Hall, is a strategic regional authority with powers over economic development, transport and regeneration. We welcome applications that adhere to the principles of open data and open standards as set out in the Emerging Technology Charter.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MAYOR’S RESILIENCE FUND