COMMUTERS' SMS 'REVOLT AGAINST RAIL' PLUS FOREIGN PASSENGERS TO GET

• Wednesday, 07 December 2005

7 December 2005

COMMUTERS' SMS 'REVOLT AGAINST RAIL' PLUS FOREIGN PASSENGERS TO GET
RAILWAY-EXCUSES IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE
-"U kunt op dit station niet uitstappen omdat de treindeuren klem zitten"
(You cannot get out at this station because the train doors are stuck, in
Dutch)
-Every commuter for themselves as railways leave commuters in the dark

SMS text-messaging company, KAPOW! (www.kapow.co.uk), today announced the
trial of the UK's first SMS railway-commuter club. Commuters will aim to
notify en masse other commuters of cancellations and delays long before the
railway companies are able to pass on this information. Kapow! has also
published at http://www.kapow.co.uk/rail traditional British railway excuses
in five different languages so that club members and others can tell foreign
visitors why there is no train or about other inconveniences experienced on
the rails.

KAPOW! is the UK's first SMS gateway and it enables organisations and
individuals to deliver bulk or individually-targeted text messages
instantaneously. In this case, a club member arriving at a station to find
that there no trains, or severe delays, can warn other commuters to stay at
home and work or divert to more reliable commuting options such as their
cars. The first trial club will cover neighbouring stations Sidcup, in
Kent, and New Eltham, south London. The trial will test the viability of the
service over a two-month period and will be provided free to a limited
number of commuters. If successful it is envisaged that commuters will
register to receive warning messages for a small charge per SMS.

Steve Petty, who has commuted from Sidcup to London for 10 years said: "This
Kapow! SMS trial could save significant inconvenience for commuters. It is
so frustrating to rush down to the station just to wait on a crowded
platform when I could have made other arrangements if only I'd known
earlier. It seems a shame that the railway operators themselves couldn't do
this but in so many cases they don't even tell the staff on the stations
what is happening so in the end passengers are forced to help themselves.
Maybe the station staff should subscribe!"

Andrew Cowles, technical director at KAPOW!, said: "SMS is an incredibly
useful tool for fast distribution of information to large groups of people.
Mobile-phone ownership is virtually ubiquitous and this situation can be
used to help manage the vagaries of commuting by public transport. Railway
operators have tried harder in recent years to provide more information but
still seem to be finding it hard to keep up with the unreliability of
railway services. We hope the SMS commuter club relieves them of some of
the strain of handling passengers who become annoyed when railway services
let them down."

"We had the idea for the railway excuse 'phrase book' after a survey we
carried out showed that 95 per cent of respondents were embarrassed by our
railway services when they saw tourists or foreign business people trying to
use them. Commuters are keen to help each other, as the SMS commuter club
shows, as well as the visitors who are so vital to our economy. This
tongue-in-cheek guide and the fact that the translators, Salford
Translations Ltd, were prepared to do it without any fee demonstrates
national feelings about our railway services."

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:
Sample translations (full versions at http://www.kapow.co.uk/rail)

Trains are delayed because of the severe weather. (I)I treni viaggiano con
ritardo a causa delle cattive condizioni climatiche.

Trains are delayed because the hot weather has buckled the tracks.
(P)Pociagi sa opóznione, poniewaz wysokie temperatury spowodowaly
odksztalcenie sie torów.

This train has developed a technical fault which is being repaired. However,
the one in front has broken down so we cannot move anywhere anyway. (NL)Deze
trein heeft een technische storing die wordt verholpen. Maar de trein
daarvoor heeft pech, dus we konden sowieso niet vertrekken.

The trains are delayed because the wrong type of snow has fallen. (E)Los
trenes se han retrasado porque ha caído el tipo de nieve equivocado.

The train is cancelled as the railway made many drivers redundant and then
didn't realise that it didn't have enough people to drive the trains. (F)Le
train a été annulé car les chemins de fer ont renvoyé de nombreux
conducteurs et qu'ils ont ensuite réalisé qu'ils n'avaient pas assez de
personnel pour conduire les trains.

Translations provided by Salford Translations Ltd, (www.salftrans.co.uk);
e-mail: nick@salftrans.co.uk; phone: +44 161 968 7100)


About KAPOW! (www.kapow.co.uk)
Launched in 1995 KAPOW! is the UK's first SMS gateway. It provides
cost-effective, reliable, high-speed messaging services to meet the
broadcast and individual SMS demands of both small and large clients. Its
SMS Gateway enables the sending and receipt of text messages between the
Internet and mobile phones; using web browsers, email or a simple HTTP
interface/API.

KAPOW! is operated by Cygnet Internet Services Ltd and represents the
strongest corporate SMS messaging solution on the market today, offering an
average UK delivery time of under 5 seconds. KAPOW! clients include
Barclays Bank, Volvo IT, KPMG, Reuters, NHS and the London School of
Economics.


Further information
Please contact David Pincott, 07866 261198 (david.pincott@btinternet.com)

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