california transit association fall conference
TRANSCRIPT
California Transit Association Fall Conference
Ryan Thompson Founder & President
[email protected] 646.459.4261
Mobile is a game changer
● The mobile device has changed the way people operate their life ● Nearly 70% of adult cell phone users in the US use smart phones ● Industry is leveraging mobile technology to grow their business and
increase efficiency ● Mobile phones manage our lives
How can mobile impact transit?
Increase in ridership & Customer Service ● NCTD - set record ridership in 2014 and partially attributed growth to
mobile ticketing ● OCTA – OC Fair Express Bus showed increase of ridership by 31%
over the prior year after adding mobile ticketing ● Additionally mobile tool integration such as trip planning, maps,
schedules add to the rider experience
Increase revenue & Decrease cost
Attract the “New Rider” who may not understand how to use the system by offering a familiar platform and tools needed to optimize and simplify the new rider experience ● Decrease hard costs associated to traditional fare media ● Extend life of existing fare collection hardware ● Introduction to new mobile fare collection system will attract a new demographic of
rider ● 54% of Millennials would consider moving to another city for better transit options ● 66% responded with transit as top 3 criteria in weighing in where to live
Plan, Pay and Board
1
2
3
Plan ● Plan your trip through Trip Planner ● View Maps, Schedules & Alerts ● Real time Vehicle Location
Pay ● Select Your Passes ● Purchase Passes
Board ● Validate your Pass ● Scan via your Mobile
Validation
• Visual ticket confirmation=fast and low cost implementation. • Scanning/hardware validation = simplifies boarding, realtime reporting,most
secure.
Data & Reporting
● Web/Cloud based ● Exportable ● Near real time ● Standard reports
o Sales o Usage o O & D o Geolocation o Trip planning
● Ad Hoc reports ● Route/Farebox
How to operate two fare collection systems side by side
● Determine strategy & use cases ● Begin with visual validation until hardware can be upgraded ● BRT or Express routes ● Special events ● Stand by side readers ● Exportable data
Hardware upgrade path
Phased upgrade approach
1. Odyssey 2. Odyssey + Fast Fare-e 3. Fast Fare + Fast Fare-e
Leverage business partnerships
● Special events o County Fairs o Chargers/Padres Games o Marathons
● College passes for transit ● Corporate accounts ● Joint marketing campaigns - cross promotion
Regional opportunities
● NCTD Coaster/Trolley Pass
● Single fare media ● Fare rules-policies handled by back end ● Single pass/wallet can be used across regional partners ● Fare revenue reconciled based on transit agreements ● Convenient for riders - one pass ● Cross promotion between transits ● Trip planning makes linking trips easy
Challenges/Concerns
● Each agency is different and may have their own way of doing things. The solution must be highly configurable and the solution vendor must have a comprehensive understanding of transit practices and systems
● Allowing riders to purchase tickets through their smartphones introduces a great many variables and challenges. The mobile app must be intuitive and simple to use.