From 17th January 2021, Google requires all applications to have special approval to use the Background Location permission.

Passenger Premium apps request the Background Location permission for the Journey Stop Proximity notification functionality. This uses the background location to let the user know via a push notification that they are nearing their targeted stop.

This new approval is required with immediate effect and will block any future releases from being approved – including any critical bug fixes we may need to do. Because of this, we have temporarily removed this functionality on Android to ensure we’re able to continue to deliver fast updates to end-users.

We will investigate if this permission is needed for this feature and request approval or replace the permission with an alternative. We will inform you as soon as we have further information or take further action.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.