Enhancing the Customer Experience in Transit

Bumpy Roads for Public Transit Agencies 

Historically, the mandate for most public transportation agencies has been straightforward: move people reliably and safely, minimizing cost to taxpayers. This mandate worked well when there was little competition outside of taxi cabs and privately-owned automobiles. Emerging technologies and industries are squeezing transit agencies by simultaneously creating new forms of competition and heightening consumer expectations. 

Uber and Lyft have made mobility seamless, ubiquitous and on-demand, creating a private “mobility-as-a-service” market that is upending transportation. Consumers are taking experiences from private enterprises and are projecting those expectations and experiences on public transit agencies. The advancement in driverless technologies in the transit industry looms as yet another challenge to public transportation. 

This new environment in which transit agencies are operating is causing more of them to prioritize customer experience (CX) programs, such as electronic ticketing and mobile app schedules, which leverage existing technology. Commuters should be able to receive push notifications from a transit authority, should a bus breakdown or subway line experience an outage that impacts their individual route, without that notice also going to those whose routes are not impacted. A CX -based solution knows an individual’s final destination and suggests a personalized, alternate route to help minimize inconvenience and facilitate seamless people movement. 

Public bus transportation faces an additional issue. Bus routes were designed decades ago when the most desired place to go was downtown – the hub for most jobs and entertainment. However, with businesses moving out from city centers and entertainment dispersed due to urban sprawl, passengers’ desired destinations have morphed and transit routes have not kept up with the changes. 

Hitachi Partners with Capital Area Transit System 

Capital Area Transit System (CATS) supports Louisiana’s capitol city, Baton Rouge, and the surrounding area including Louisiana State University. CATS is looking to address the emerging trends outlined above to create modernized experiences for their public and private stakeholders. Working with its communities, CATS has crafted a 5-year plan to improve the rider experience, create at least one new route, improve on-time performance, and create more express routes during rush hour. 

Transforming business models and embracing the new digital era is no easy task. Strategic partnerships are needed to inspire new ways of thinking and co-create integrated technology solutions to help achieve these goals. CATS is partnering with Hitachi (see the press release here), a renowned innovator in the transport and mobility space that has shaped digital transformation for over 100 years. Hitachi understands the importance of proactive collaboration, dynamic ecosystems, and public-private partnership in bringing its customer-centric solutions to support CATS and its communities. 

Hitachi will leverage its Lumada product line of data-driven digital solutions, services, and advanced technologies to deliver a holistic passenger communication system that includes a multi-channel messaging and digital wallet solution. These solutions will allow CATS to create a form of engagement that is more connected, flexible and actionable for their customers, improving the customer experience and better positioning CATS against disintermediation from private transport alternatives. 

Additionally, Hitachi will leverage technology from its Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) solution to help CATS manage its assets consisting of buses, trolleys, and cutaway vans and their respective routes to achieve greater efficiency, better on-time performance, and support for CATS’s enhanced and new routes. This multi-year partnership supports CATS’ commitment to its Board and constituents to increase ridership through the improvement of passenger engagement, journey visibility, and asset utilization.  

I look forward to reporting back on the results.