London Travel app

Phil 💊 is the app's friendly helper in the bottom corner. Tap Ask Phil and type a question like “nearest pharmacy”, “I'm at King's Cross” or “running late”, or tap a big button. He's a simple guide, not a real person or a doctor. It helps if you've just arrived at a London station (such as King's Cross or Euston), want to get somewhere, need your next train or bus, want bigger text and step-free routes, need to know how to pay, or feel lost and need a person to ask. It can also read the guidance out loud.

It's a quick 0 to 100 score at the top of the app showing how London's Tube and rail network is doing right now. It goes down when lines have delays, severe delays or closures, or when station lifts are out of service. Tap Share to send it to friends or post it on your status. Late at night, when most lines are closed, it shows a moon instead.

Possibly. If you or your partner get certain benefits (such as Universal Credit if you meet its criteria, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit or income-related ESA) or have an HC2 or HC3 certificate, the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme may refund your fares to hospital or specialist appointments you were referred to. Plan a “🏥 Appointment”, then tap “Could you get this fare back?” for a quick check and a trip log on your phone. The hospital decides each claim.

Yes. It's completely free with no sign-up. It works in any phone browser, and you can add it to your home screen so it opens like a normal app.

Tap “🏥 Appointment” under the “Where to?” box, pick a London hospital or type your clinic or postcode, and enter your appointment time. The app plans backwards and tells you when to leave, with a safety buffer, step-free routes and any lift problems on the way. You can share the plan with family or a carer on WhatsApp.

Type where you want to go in the “Where to?” box at the top. You can enter a station, a landmark, a postcode or an address with its postcode. The app shows the fastest routes with journey times, fares and live disruption warnings, using TfL's official Journey Planner.

Tick “♿ Step-free route” in the journey planner to get routes using lifts and ramps instead of stairs. Turn on Accessible mode for bigger text, lift alerts first, and station facilities such as lifts, toilets and boarding ramps.

Open the “♿ Step-free & lifts” card on the Lines tab to see every lift TfL reports as out of service, and search for your station. If you open a station in the Times tab, any lift problem appears as a warning above the departures.

The Weekend planner at the top of the Lines tab lists planned closures on the Tube, Elizabeth line, Overground and DLR for the coming weekend or the next 7 days, with your saved lines first. You can share the list on WhatsApp in one tap.

Open the Times tab and search for any station or bus stop, or tap “Near me”. You'll see the next trains, trams and buses, updated every 30 seconds. Tap “Save” to keep your usual stops one tap away.

When you open a Tube station in the Times tab, a badge shows whether it's quiet or busy, using TfL's live crowding data, updated every 5 minutes.

The Airports tab shows live Piccadilly line and Elizabeth line times from each Heathrow terminal, live DLR times for London City Airport, and official train and flight information links for Gatwick, Stansted and Luton.

Yes. The Roads tab shows live traffic on London's main TfL roads, such as the North Circular and the A40, plus roadworks, road closures and incidents. You can search by road or area, for example “Ealing”.

No. The London Travel app is made by PHC (Pharma Healthcare Consultancy Ltd) and uses Transport for London's open data. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by TfL.

Yes. The free Clinic Travel Widget creates a live “How to get here” board for your website or waiting-room screen. Create yours at travel.mnphc.co.uk/clinics.