FAQs

1. I already have a favourite journey planner. What is so special about LinkingAlps?

   LinkingAlps isn’t meant to replace your favourite planner — it helps connect them. It links several regional or national journey planners across the Alps so they can share information with each other. This means you get more accurate long-distance and cross-border results, while each region keeps using its own high-quality local data. In short: better coverage, better accuracy, one connected network.
2. I submitted some feedback/reported a bug a while ago, but nothing has changed yet. Why does it take so long?

   Thanks so much for your feedback — it really helps! Right now, we are in a dedicated six-month demo phase where we collect all feedback first. Unless an issue is essential for the service to work, we are not fixing bugs immediately. This gives us time to see the “big picture” and understand what users need most. After these six months, we will review everything together and plan the next improvements based on all the input we’ve received.
3. Why is it only available on Südtirol Mobil?

   Südtirol Mobil is the first partner to integrate LinkingAlps into their journey planner. Our goal is to have the service available in more End-User applications.
4. Why can I only search stops and not addresses?

   Address search requires detailed and standardised geographical data from every partner region. Not all regions can provide this yet in a fully compatible format. To make sure the service works reliably everywhere, we currently offer stop-based search only. As soon as more regions supply the required data, address search will be added.
5. Which countries/regions are covered by LinkingAlps?

   LinkingAlps currently connects public transport information from Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, South Tyrol and Lombardy.
6. Do I need to install an app to use LinkingAlps?

   Currently the service is only available on Südtirol Mobil (Web or App). But the goal is that you don’t have to install a new app but instead use your familiar journey planner to have the full coverage of public transport in the Alpine Region.
7. Can I buy tickets through LinkingAlps?

   Unfortunately not. LinkingAlps focuses on providing high-quality, cross-border journey information. Ticket purchasing remains with the individual regional providers.
8. Will more countries be added in the future?

   Definitely yes! LinkingAlps is designed to grow. Our goal is to expand the coverage step by step.
9. What does the “demo phase” mean for users?

   During the demo phase, the service is already available, but still under active development. We collect feedback over six months and only fix essential issues immediately. After that, all collected feedback will be reviewed and used to improve the next version of the service. So you might notice small quirks — but your feedback really helps shape the future of LinkingAlps.
10. Why are some long-distance trains missing?

    Long-distance train data is often not publicly available. Because LinkingAlps depends on shared data from the operators directly, this can lead to occasional quirks or missing long-distance connections in your results. We are actively raising awareness and working with stakeholders to improve data availability in the future, so these gaps can be reduced over time.
11. Why does it take so long to get a result?

    We are really sorry if you need to wait a little longer than expected. LinkingAlps brings together journey information from several regions and systems. When you search for a trip, your request is passed through multiple partners so each one can add its part of the route. This “chain” takes a bit more time than a standard journey planner that only checks one region. We’re continuously working with all partners to speed this up — but the slightly longer waiting time is part of making cross-border travel information possible.