Departure.
A community-driven rail app that helps passengers report delays, rate trips, and find smarter connections using trust scoring, rewards, and route optimization algorithms.
DEPARTURE.
DEPARTURE is a community-powered rail travel app built to connect passengers and improve the train experience through real-time reporting and shared insights.
With a rewards system, trust-based validation, and custom route algorithms, the project redefines how people plan and experience railway journeys.
About the Project
The core idea behind DEPARTURE is collaborative travel intelligence:
- every user can report delays and disruptions in real time,
- passengers can rate journeys and share feedback,
- all reports contribute to a shared data layer that helps everyone make better travel decisions.
This approach makes trip planning faster, reduces uncertainty, and helps passengers travel with less stress.
Core Features
Real-Time Reporting & Feedback
- live delay and disruption reporting,
- trip rating and passenger feedback,
- community-generated travel insights.
Travel Operations
- railway ticket purchase and registration,
- route preview and live train location on a map,
- smarter planning supported by current community data.
Intelligent Route Search
DEPARTURE uses a custom route-selection algorithm based on:
- live disruption and delay reports,
- travel-time and transfer data,
- user preferences (speed, comfort, punctuality).
Rewards & Engagement System (EXP)
Users earn EXP (experience points) for meaningful activity:
- submitting delay/disruption reports,
- rating trips,
- participating in surveys and community actions.
Accumulated points can be exchanged for:
- discounts,
- ticket-related bonuses.
This model encourages long-term participation and builds an engaged, high-signal passenger community.
Safety & Data Reliability
TrustFactor
DEPARTURE uses TrustFactor, a reliability engine that evaluates:
- report history,
- user consistency and accuracy,
- contribution quality over time.
Its purpose is to reduce false reports and toxic behavior, ensuring that route optimization and alert systems rely on trusted inputs.
Growth Potential
Planned future directions include:
- integration with additional transport modes (buses, metro, trams),
- expansion beyond the Małopolska region,
- satisfaction, crowding, and punctuality analytics,
- partner rewards ecosystem (carrier discounts and perks),
- personalized delay and route-change notifications.
Summary
DEPARTURE combines community, technology, and trust into a new railway travel standard —
faster, smarter, and more reliable.
Tech Stack
- Frontend: React + Next.js
- Backend: Express.js + SQLite
- Authentication: Firebase