How to use the PTV iPhone app

When you first open the app, the default page (Home) contains your nearby stops and stations. Once you save favourite stops, stations and journeys they will also appear here.

At the bottom of your screen you will see menu items which will guide you around the app.

If you tap the Next 5 icon , this will display the stops closest to your current location if you have already searched for a stop or selected the stop.

You can also type your address, contacts or station/stop into the search bar.

When in the map view you can also find your current location by tapping the Locate Me icon .

View the Icon Legend explaining all of the app icons.

To view your next departure, tap the Next 5 icon . Then type in the route, line, station or stop to view its next departures.

The list of departures shown are colour coded via mode:

Blue Next 5 icon: Metropolitan train

Green Next 5 icon: Tram

Orange Next 5 icon: Metropolitan bus/NightRider bus

Purple Next 5 icon: V/Line train and coach

When in the Map, once you have found your stop or station, tap the stop icon and then tap the Next 5 icon that appears in the pop-up. This will give you the next departures from this stop.

To plan your journey, tap the Plan journey icon at the base of your screen.

Type the address, station/stop or contact name from which you are departing or leave the default option which will be your current location.

Next, enter the address, station/stop or contact name you wish to travel to.

You can also type in a contacts name, which will use address information from your contact list on your phone. To do this you will need to tap the More icon and then tap Settings and ensure the ‘Use Contacts in Searches’ button is on.

You can then tap on the options as they are displayed to get more detail about the journey.

If you wish to make any changes to this journey, tap the blue Set journey preferences > button and you can change:

• Whether you wish to depart now or at a future time/date.
• Whether you wish to arrive now or at a future time/date.
• Your preferred transfer method
• Your preferred maximum transfer time
• Your walking speed (default is Average)
• Your trip preference
• Your preferred modes of transport
• Accessibility preferences.

You can also save this as a default preference – however the date and time will not be saved as a preference.

To view the journey in reverse, tap the reverse icon .

To refresh the view tap the refresh/reset icon  at the top of the screen.

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If you are using the Apple Maps function on your iPhone you can also plan your journey on public transport.

Within Apple Maps, find your current location or drop a pin for a specified location.

Tap on the white box that appears and then tap on Transit Directions. This will take you to a screen that enables you to choose from a list of Apps that can provide you directions to or from this location.

If you select the PTV app, it will automatically take you to Journey Planner within the app and provide the pin location as your desired destination.

Alternatively, from the Apple Map you can tap the Directions to here or Directions from here options. This will then request you to add an additional location to start/end your journey.

Tap the blue bus icon at the top of the screen, then enter your start/end location, and then tap Route.

This will take you to a screen that enables you to choose from a list of Apps that can provide you directions to or from this location.

If you select the PTV app, it will automatically take you to Journey Planner within the app and provide the pin location as your desired destination.

There are a few ways you can save your favourite station/stop:

• Via the map
• Via the search bar
• Via Next 5
• Via Journey Planner

Map: Tap the mode icon of the relevant stop, then at the base of the screen tap the Next 5 icon . You can then tap the star icon in the top right corner. This will allow you to select your favourite services. The star will turn yellow when selected.

Search bar: Type in the station, street, stop or address that you wish to favourite. Then tap the relevant choice from the options provided for the mode you are looking for.

Next 5: In Next 5 search for your desired stop and then tap the star icon at the top of the screen. The star will turn yellow when selected.

Journey planner: Simply plan your journey and at the results page, tap the star icon in the top right hand corner. The star will turn yellow when selected.

To access your favourites, tap the Home icon at the base of your screen. This is also your default home screen that will display when you open the app.

If you wish to change the list of favourites you have on the app, tap Home at the base of the screen.

Once in Home, tap the Edit button in the top right corner. This will enable you to delete or rename any favourite journeys or delete stations and stops.

You can also re-arrange how the favourites are shown, simply tap down and drag up or down to change the order.

Tap the More icon at the base of your screen and then tap on Disruptions. This will display all planned disruptions for every mode of transport.

You can also filter the transport modes displayed by tapping the List icon.

Disruption information can also be displayed within Journey Planner.

If you have planned a journey and you see the Disruption icon , tap on the journey option and then tap on the icon which will give you a brief description of the disruption.

While you are taking your journey, you can follow your progress on the map. This is particularly useful if you are taking a new journey as it will help you know where to alight. Please note, you will need to have Location Services enabled on your phone for this to have optimal accuracy.

When using the Journey Planner, you can also tap the Map my journey  icon which will detail the route for your journey.

To view transport mode network maps, tap the More icon at the base of your screen and then tap on Transport Maps.

Currently you can view:

• Metropolitan train
• Metropolitan tram
• Regional train and coach
• NightRider

To change between different modes, tap the List icon at the top right of the screen and specify the map you wish to view.

If you are unsure about what a particular option can do, tap the Help icon  at the top of the screen. This will give you help information for that particular menu item.

There may be more than one screen of help information, just swipe to the right to access additional help screens.

To exit out of help, simply swipe up or double tap the screen.

The default setting for your Home screen is to show your nearby transport options. If you wish to turn this off, tap the More icon  at the base of your screen and then tap on Settings.

Swipe the button beside Nearby transport to the left to turn this function off.

Please note that this information is based on the GPS (Location services) data as provided by your phone. If your GPS is turned off, you will not get as accurate a ‘nearby transport’ option.

Learn how to turn on GPS/Location Services on your device.

We encourage you to provide us with feedback so we can continue to improve the app.

Tap the More icon at the base of your screen and then tap on Feedback.

You can utilise Siri to access the PTV app.

Simply turn Siri on and say “Open PTV” or “Public transport to (location)” and this will then open the PTV app.

You will then need to manually tap and type information into the PTV app.

In order to ensure your ‘Current location’ is always accurate, you will need to ensure that your GPS settings are turned on.

To do this, you will need to go out of the app and into your Settings > Privacy > Location Services.

Make sure the button is ‘on’ next to Location Services.

Next, within Privacy go to PTV app and again ensure that Location Services are turned on.

The PTV app uses GPS information to find your location, so if there are any inaccuracies with your precise location – this is due to the GPS data – not the app.

All arrival and departure information for metropolitan trains, metropolitan bus, regional V/Line trains, regional V/Line coaches and regional buses is scheduled timetable information.

Tram information shown in minutes is from tramTRACKER™, tram information shown in times are scheduled (timetable) services.

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Home

Home
View and edit your favourite station/stop/journey

Plan your journey
Plan your journey from A to B

Next 5
View the next five departures from a chosen stop/station/address

Map
View where you are on a map or search for a specific stop/station/address

More
View the following menu items:

Disruptions
View all planned or current disruptions for all modes of transport

Transport maps
View a transport map for all modes except buses

Settings
Turn ‘nearby transport’ on or off

Feedback
Provide feedback to PTV on the app or on our service generally