Can AI help transit agencies process customer feedback? MARTA shows that the answer is "Yes."

this guest blog post talks about how to improve the customer experience of tourists on public transit

Let's go for a ride with future transit riders and employees for a glimpse of what customer experiences might be like in the future.

Here are some highlights of my experiences traveling by transit in Vietnam and Japan. Some great experiences, some not so good, but always valuable in that it gets me thinking about ways to improve transit back in America. One highlight of my trip was the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan, which reaches 175 mph. This has always been on my bucket list: One highlight of the trip: The Japanese Shinkansen bullet train But before I talk about Japan, my transit travelog actually sta

How your train's face affects Customer Experience - CX and Exterior Design of Train Cars.

Product, Price, and Promotion Transit Marketing and Communications (MarCom) staff are often drawn to Customer Experience (CX) because they relish opportunities to promote high-quality products or services that riders love. Unfortunately, the reality is that MarCom staff are sometimes asked to promote a product that has major flaws or has an unattractive price. For example, a new service may have long headways and wait times, a new app might not be user friendly, or perhaps a

It always seems impossible until it is done. Hot off the press, an excerpt of a Customer Experience chapter I wrote...

Traditional design of transit services is often constrained at the start by what's available, politically acceptable, or convenient. A Customer Experience approach, however, is different. It starts with customer requirements and, instead of accepting practical or political constraints, it works to overcome constraints to build a quality customer experience. Take, for example, transit ambassadors. A CX approach starts with understanding customer pain points and expectations, a

Some of the best Customer Experience ideas start with insights from front-line employees. When I oversaw the rollout of a BART brand update 15 years ago, I assembled a team of Station Agents and Operations Supervisors to explore ways to improve the rider and employee experience. In our monthly meetings, one recurring theme surfaced - Station Agents taking pride in being able to spot "Newbies" (i.e., new riders) when the Newbies enter a station. At the same time, our surveys t

Previously I wrote about User Experience (UX) testing of new transit products, and how involving transit riders in the design process can create improvements to the customer experience. Today's blog post will take you on a journey into one project in particular, namely BART's new train cars, called the "Fleet of the Future." I will describe how the UX process worked, the value of involving customers, and lessons learned. The Fleet of the Future design and UX testing process l

So you want to reward riders as a way to enhance your customers' experiences and build ridership? What's the best way to do that? There are many options to choose from and pitfalls to avoid. Let's start with three general tips: First of all, as with all new products or services, get clarity on objectives before you begin. Do you want to acquire new customers, strengthen relationships with existing customers, build off-peak ridership, improve brand perception? What's the top p

Original image by Exp691 via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Art by Christopher Cheung. Much has been made about the costs and benefits of free transit. Just a sampling of recent articles include: Zero-fare public transit movement gains momentum (cnbc.com) The Case for Making Public Transit Free Everywhere | WIRED Buses Shouldn't Be Free - The Atlantic When Buses Go Free, Public Transit Service Can Suffer - Bloomberg Free transit: Is it a public good, like libraries or schools? - CS

Once you achieve service that is reliable, safe, on-time, clean, and user-friendly, you have the opportunity to go the extra mile to WOW your customers. Here are ten fun Surprise and Delight ideas to get started: 1) Shadow Play - Are you designing a new pedestrian overpass, bus stop shelter, or other facility? Consider incorporating a design that casts an interesting shadow. Piano keys? Zoo animals? Geometric patterns? Invite local art students to submit ideas? 2) Pop-up Musi

Any CX program is incomplete without User Experience (UX) Testing of products. Are you preparing for your next order of new buses or trains? (Or renovating old ones?) Planning a new website? New apps? Designing new signage? Buying new ticket vending machines? Installing new bus stop shelters? Developing new internal administrative systems? Today's consumers experience unprecedented convenience - purchasing products and services at the click of a mouse and having them show up