Rider Amenities: Increasing Rider Satisfaction Through Multiple Means By Maile Bucher Adding amenities to transit systems can open new opportunities for agencies to attract riders in a diff erent fashion and add innovation to service, but how do agencies balance adding amenities versus increasing existing service routes and times? MENITIES CONTINUE TO develop, as does agency service reach, it’s a matter of deciding which to include. Agencies also have the option to continue to add or develop services as they discover new needs for riders. On-Board Comfort Via Metropolitan Transit Authority off ers Wi-Fi for free throughout its system. Via originally off ered Wi-Fi souly on its express buses and its BRT-light route Primo. Jeff rey Arndt, president and chief executive offi cer of Via, was frequently approached by riders when he attended community meetings. Th ey would point out how when they rode the express service they’d have Wi-Fi, but as soon as they got off and transferred to their next bus they’d suddenly loose the service. “Th ey would say ‘Wi-Fi today is kind of a necessity and we wish you would look at having it more broadly in your network.’ So we looked at it and we felt that the price was reasonable,” said Arndt. “We felt that if we wanted to be attractive to our next generation of riders, they have certain expectations. Certainly as we continue, the next generation coming along, it’s going to be important that we are attractive to them. We released Wi-Fi service throughout the fl eet. We put it in both the fi xed-route system and the ADA-paratransit system. We also off er it at a number of fi xed facilities, not at every bus stop, but at major transfer points and transit centers.” Via also introduced a new service in partnership with the community. Via’s Ride and Read program brings BiblioTech — a service which off ers books through digital platforms — to riders. It was launched in fall 2016 in partnership with Nelson Wolff , a county judge’s initiative. Arndt was approached at one of the launches of a BiblioTech kiosk where a young man, who was a lifelong Via rider, asked since Via had Wi-Fi if they would be able to put the program on-board. Th e service off ers around 40,000 titles in its library. “It’s a free service. Th e Bexar county off ers it free and of course our Wi-Fi is free. I actually signed up for BiblioTech the day that we released it,” said Arndt. “I found 24 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | MARCH 2017 that when I was using BiblioTech I was more diligent in reading, because the book is on your device for like two weeks and then it’s going to roll back into access. I felt pressured to read more, which is a good thing. So huge access of opportunity.” Direct Line to Customers In Tampa the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) deployed the OneBusAway app funded between Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the National Center for Transit Research and the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida (CUTR). Most recently OneBusAway underwent a redesign to include new features to increase customer satisfaction. Shannon Haney, ITS coordinator at HART said that since releasing the app to their riders they’ve received feedback from customers saying that the app is a “lifesaver.” On January 31 the enhancement to OneBusAway was released, allowing riders to report issues, provide suggestions to HART in real time, receive status updates, and monitor the progress and resolutions. VIA PARTNERED with the BiblioTech program to allow riders to download digital titles to read on board. Via “We felt that if we wanted to be attractive to our next generation of riders, they have certain expectations.” - JEFFREY Arndt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Via
MassTransit_March_2017
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