JURNYON - TfW launch new loyalty app for customers

[brown.chrisc1@]

I would be curious to know what people think of this?

TfW launch new loyalty app for customers

Transport for Wales (TfW) is launching a new subscription and loyalty app that rewards passengers for their travel on TfW services.

JURNON

Transforming Travel Experiences - your one-stop solution for all your train ticketing needs. We revolutionize travel with anti-fraud subscriptions and loyalty driven ticketing for secure, convenient, and rewarding experiences.

 

[Bletchleyite]

From a quick browse it looks rank-amateur and not really worth bothering with.

 

[Markdvdman]

Hmm I use TFW services a lot, Merthyr To Cadoxton/Bridgend, and to Llanelli/Carmarthen - sometimes Llandybie. When it comes to Android may give it a try.

 

[Adam Williams]

The LinkedIn page for JurnyOn is a great example of marketing buzzword bingo: artificial intelligence crops up 4 times, we supposedly have Blockchain technology providing "Fort-Knox level protections" against fraud, "dynamic gamification"....

I have no idea as to what value Blockchain is supposed to provide when it comes to preventing fraud that a ledger or a simple time-series database wouldn't also allow you to do.

I can only assume this marketing blurb wasn't written by a software engineer.

There may well be merit in a subscription approach and room for it within the industry for some customers, but it'd easier to evaluate the strengths of JurnyOn's proposition if there was less

and more substance.

 

[WelshBluebird]

My initial thinking was that charging for a loyalty scheme is a bit brave, but actually given you get discounts on advance fares, this could really work for some people.

£6 a month for 35% off is about double what a railcard is over a year, and the discount is only on advance fares, but if you do a couple of trips a month and usually get TfW advances it would be easily worth it.

It doesn't seem to cover all TfW priced advances though, just TfW only ones (e.g. Bristol to Manchester via Newport, which is avaliable as a TfW plus connections advance, wouldn't be eligible from what I can see, but a Newport to Manchester advance would be).

 

[styles]

In the extreme example if you took their longest journey from Holyhead to Cardiff, you'd earn £2.34.

That's absolute garbage for a loyalty scheme lol.

Compare this to say Club Avanti where basically 3 return trips with split tickets (shh) earns you a free return journey anywhere on the whole Avanti network. Or LNER which is 2% cashback (plus £5 signing bonus) plus 5-10% credit card cashback. Or even GWR's weird new offering.

That said, 35% off advance fares for platinum subscribers is quality.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I wonder how this fits in with GBR branding and intended fares systems?
It's an odd time to introduce a loyalty scheme, and seemingly limited to TfW.
If it turns out to be a GBR-wide scheme that would be different.
Limiting it to Advance fares is also strange, why would TfW's walk-on passengers be excluded?
Some parts of the text say it works on Android, others say not yet.

 

[styles]

I wonder how this fits in with GBR branding and intended fares systems?
It's an odd time to introduce a loyalty scheme, and seemingly limited to TfW.
If it turns out to be a GBR-wide scheme that would be different.
Limiting it to Advance fares is also strange, why would TfW's walk-on passengers be excluded?
Some parts of the text say it works on Android, others says not yet.

The same question was asked about GWR's loyalty scheme a month or so ago.

There was no conclusion.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It sounds to me like a small business, possibly (given how amateurish it looks) someone straight out of university, has managed to get TfW on board as a first customer. Probably by giving it to them free or very cheaply.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder how this fits in with GBR branding and intended fares systems?
It's an odd time to introduce a loyalty scheme, and seemingly limited to TfW.
If it turns out to be a GBR-wide scheme that would be different.
Limiting it to Advance fares is also strange, why would TfW's walk-on passengers be excluded?
Some parts of the text say it works on Android, others say not yet.

If it's TfW then it has nothing to do with GBR

 

[61653 HTAFC]

That name looks like the sort of fake brand that cheap tat on Amazon is sold under. That alone is enough to diminish the TfW brand in my eyes.

 

[AlterEgo]

The branding and American English spelling scream that this might be an Indian company. Are they based in the UK?

JURNYON is a horrible brand name which can only have been invented by a non-native. I'd pronounced it "jurn-yun" and thought it might be a place or a person's name. Or a "shop" on Temu.

 

[WelshBluebird]

"Journey on" isn't it? Seems fairly obvious pronunciation wise to me anyway. Doesn't mean it's a good name mind you.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

If it's TfW then it has nothing to do with GBR

I expect TfW and Scotrail will be semi-detached from GBR but still under its umbrella.
The upcoming legislation will be GB-wide (with some local variants).
NR Wales & Borders will certainly be integrated with GBR.

 

[styles]

The branding and American English spelling scream that this might be an Indian company. Are they based in the UK?

JURNYON is a horrible brand name which can only have been invented by a non-native. I'd pronounced it "jurn-yun" and thought it might be a place or a person's name. Or a "shop" on Temu.

It is a company registered in Wales. It is owned by an Indian person (50-75% shares) and a British person (25-50% shares).

BLOCKRANK LIMITED persons with significant control - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

BLOCKRANK LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

 

[saismee]

TfW launch new loyalty app for customers

I think this is a little misleading, it seems to be a third-party AI/blockchain slop tech startup trying to harvest money from investors. All of the wording used on the site seems to be incentivising companies to back it, rather than consumers. AI customer support? Which customer wants that exactly? Why would you use blockchain for anything ticketing related when a centralised system works perfectly fine... blockchain only makes sense for decentralised systems, which a transport system is NOT.

JURNYON is a horrible brand name which can only have been invented by a non-native. I'd pronounced it "jurn-yun" and thought it might be a place or a person's name. Or a "shop" on Temu.

That name looks like the sort of fake brand that cheap tat on Amazon is sold under.

Sounds like the type of company you see when you search "USB Charger" on Amazon and get the "JURNYON USB C USB A Fast Charge Extreme Speed iPhone 16 15 14 13 12 Pro Max Ultra" garbage with all the buzz words in title. It's very clearly a scam to get investment money, which TfW has unfortunately fallen for... somehow...

 

[vicbury]

It is so laughably amateurish I have no idea how TfW has signed it off. For example, it is available on iPhone only. What sort of major organisation launches a new loyalty scheme that excludes the majority of their customers.

 

[johnnychips]

The branding and American English spelling scream that this might be an Indian company. Are they based in the UK?

JURNYON is a horrible brand name which can only have been invented by a non-native. I'd pronounced it "jurn-yun" and thought it might be a place or a person's name. Or a "shop" on Temu.

I thought it might be Welsh for something!

 

[Adam Williams]

It's very clearly a scam to get investment money, which TfW has unfortunately fallen for... somehow...

You'd be surprised at what sort of scams publicly owned TOCs fall for.

Northern spent £78,983 of taxpayer money on a "special chemical-free cleaning spray" which turned out to just be water.
I bought a bottle of it from Amazon and drank it.

Remember that next time you touch one of the tables on-board their services and pick up something to eat...

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

I expect TfW and Scotrail will be semi-detached from GBR but still under its umbrella.
The upcoming legislation will be GB-wide (with some local variants).
NR Wales & Borders will certainly be integrated with GBR.

I look forward to seeing this, TfW owns its own trains, maintenance depots etc etc, I will be surprised if they end up under any umbrella.

 

[Horizon22]

Seems like they've been working with TfW since at least 2024, and also were involved in some sort of railway innovation conference the same year.

I am not sure that the reporter seemed to know what they were actually talking about here though, it is just endless buzzwords: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/real-world-case-study-on-nfts-and-blockchain

Transport for Wales (TfW) is pioneering the future of ticketing with AI, blockchain and NFTs, revolutionizing travel across Wales. TfW, in partnership with JurnyOn, unveils a ground-breaking initiative aimed at transforming travel experiences. This collaboration harnesses cutting-edge technologies to introduce secure, efficient and innovative subscription ticketing, loyalty rewards and unique digital collectibles on the blockchain.

This not only enhances passenger experiences but also combats fraud, potentially saving millions for the railways. By leveraging blockchain technology, every ticket transaction is securely recorded and tamper-proof, ensuring transparency and integrity throughout the ticketing process. This technology enables TfW to effectively identify and prevent fraudulent activities, such as ticket cloning or counterfeiting, thereby safeguarding revenue streams. This initiative sets to new standards in security, efficiency and customer engagement within the transportation sector.

Edit: the contributor of the article, is the CEO of JurnyOn.

 

[saismee]

You'd be surprised at what sort of scams publicly owned TOCs fall for.

Northern spent £78,983 of taxpayer money on a "special chemical-free cleaning spray" which turned out to just be water.
I bought a bottle of it from Amazon and drank it.

Remember that next time you touch one of the tables on-board their services and pick up something to eat...

I don't use Northern (thankfully) and that is shocking. Though, I also touch my phone screen or the door open button on [any operator] and still touch food to eat it. I think 80 thousand being spent on snake oil is a bigger concern than germs from a train table!

 

[Egg Centric]

The LinkedIn page for JurnyOn is a great example of marketing buzzword bingo: artificial intelligence crops up 4 times, we supposedly have Blockchain technology providing "Fort-Knox level protections" against fraud, "dynamic gamification"....

I have no idea as to what value Blockchain is supposed to provide when it comes to preventing fraud that a ledger or a simple time-series database wouldn't also allow you to do.

I can only assume this marketing blurb wasn't written by a software engineer.

There may well be merit in a subscription approach and room for it within the industry for some customers, but it'd easier to evaluate the strengths of JurnyOn's proposition if there was less BS and more substance.

Good god this thing is hilarious. Blockchain

Still it doesn't mean it doesn't work. Delivering some very simple apps to these TOCs would very often be a massive improvement whatever bollocks you put around them. Indeed the bollocks may mean they get accepted without having to go through the acceptance processes and thus may be a benefit, if that makes sense? I've certainly experience of similar schenaigans myself with paralysed clients with sclerotic IT depts they're all desparate to bypass (isn't that more or less the definition of "enterprise IT"?).

 

[Halwynd]

You have to laugh at some of the website patter: "transforming travel experiences... integrating cutting-edge conversational AI and dynamic gamification".

You'd be surprised at what sort of scams publicly owned TOCs fall for.

Northern spent £78,983 of taxpayer money on a "special chemical-free cleaning spray" which turned out to just be water.
I bought a bottle of it from Amazon and drank it.

Remember that next time you touch one of the tables on-board their services and pick up something to eat...

Reminds me of an episode of Only Fools & Horses when Del Boy decides to bottle tap water and sell it as Peckham Spring Water.

But life was simpler in those days. I'm fast approaching an age where I have to start looking up some words and phrases - 'dynamic gamification' - not a clue, and anything which mentions AI makes me run a mile.

But I suppose the old saying remains... you get out of this life what you put into it - plus a little extra on top if you can find a few mugs.

 

[Adam Williams]

Edit: the contributor of the article, is the CEO of JurnyOn

That would explain a lot!

I hadn't spotted NFTs are apparently also involved..

Indeed the bollocks may mean they get accepted without having to go through the acceptance processes and thus may be a benefit, if that makes sense? I've certainly experience of similar schenaigans myself with paralysed clients with sclerotic IT depts they're all desparate to bypass (isn't that more or less the definition of "enterprise IT"?).

It makes some sense (I used to work in a university and .. yeah, outside my immediate team was bureaucratic pain - albeit it was all still less dysfunctional than the rail industry), but I still loathe this practice

 

[Bletchleyite]

But life was simpler in those days. I'm fast approaching an age where I have to start looking up some words and phrases - 'dynamic gamification' - not a clue, and anything which mentions AI makes me run a mile.

As soon as the word "leverage" is used in any context other than physical advantage in mechanical systems you just know the male cow is standing there defecating. One of the nastiest pieces of business speak which I have outright refused to use* throughout my IT career.

* Most of the time that's all it means, though occasionally "steal", "misappropriate" or "repurpose".

 

[Krokodil]

I thought it might be Welsh for something!

There is no letter J in Welsh

 

[omnicity4659]

When it was announced I did wonder where public money is going.

So passengers pay this JurnyOn outfit, in return for discounts on travel, in some cases 35% off. Cardiff to Crewe was £33 for an advance early in the morning when I last checked, so that’s already £11.50 off the fare, and £11.50 less income to TfW. For regular journeys this is going to be a rather big decrease in takings…

£5.90 of the saving to the passenger is paid to JurnyOn through the monthly subscription, and I assume TfW are also paying to be partnered with JurnyOn too.

I can only see this as a loss maker for TfW, and seemingly just generating a stream of cash to JurnyOn, unless they’re hoping that it’ll grow passenger numbers… in that case surely TfW could have just created their own version of a Railcard?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Apr 2025 ==

Seems like they've been working with TfW since at least 2024, and also were involved in some sort of railway innovation conference the same year.

I am not sure that the reporter seemed to know what they were actually talking about here though, it is just endless buzzwords: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/real-world-case-study-on-nfts-and-blockchain



Edit: the contributor of the article, is the CEO of JurnyOn.

I put this article through ZeroGPT, which detects if it has been written by AI, and it comes back as a 100% certainty that it has been.

This aligns with the clearer writing style in the article compared to her writing style on the Jurnyon website…

 

[Halwynd]

As soon as the word "leverage" is used in any context other than physical advantage in mechanical systems you just know the male cow is standing there defecating. One of the nastiest pieces of business speak which I have outright refused to use* throughout my IT career.

* Most of the time that's all it means, though occasionally "steal", "misappropriate" or "repurpose".

Indeed - don't ever watch Alan Sugar and The Apprentice programme, it'll make your blood boil!

 

[Cambrian359]

Something like this might help build passenger numbers once ALL new fleets are in full service and ALL promised services are running in full formations ,but until then…..
To be completely honest it’s just feels like another Welsh assembly pet project to waste money, I say as a Welshman that speaks Welsh most days.