Imagining the Future of Public Transit

It always seems impossible until it is done.

Nelson Mandela

Now that a year has gone by since the publication of The New Future of Public Transportation, I decided to update the Customer Experience chapter I wrote to include new trends and ideas. Read on to glimpse into the future.

To build a better tomorrow, we must first imagine it. So let us go for a ride with future transit “guests” Veronica and Jim, and transit team members Chai, Cass, and Tiana to imagine what transit customer experience and employee experience might look like in the years ahead.

Veronica

I awaken to the sound of music pumped into my bedroom, and I roll out of bed to brush my teeth. My audio system shifts from music to news highlights and weather. It is going to be a chilly Friday, so I bundle up with an extra sweater and head to the kitchen. My audio system reminds me to step out of the door by 7:15 to catch the bus, which is running on time, and since today is Earth Day, it thanks me for doing my part to save the planet. I appreciate that!

It is just about time to go when my phone buzzes. It is a text message from Metro—my bus hit some traffic—so I have time to go back to my twin daughters’ bedroom and give them another hug before leaving the house. Then I eat my yogurt, pop in my earbuds, and head out the door. While I walk to the bus stop, my earbuds briefly pause my tunes and let me know the new ETA for my bus and assure me I will get to the stop on time at my current pace.

In fact, I arrive at the bus stop a few minutes early and enjoy the comfortable, shaded seating and countdown clock—a big step up from ten years ago when the stop had only a bare pole. I relax for a few minutes and think of recipes for my daughters’ dinner. I do not need to worry about missing my bus because my bus shelter’s perimeter LEDs always start flashing when the bus is 30 seconds away, and also my earbuds tell me “V - let’s go! This is

your bus.”

Sure enough the LEDs and earbuds do their thing, I board the bus and pick a seat by the window to warm up in the morning sun. My regular driver Chai greets me with a big smile and his signature “how’s life treating you, my friend?” then I settle down into one of the priority seats on account of my bad knee.

The bus is almost never late, and Metro always lets me know what’s going on. Last Monday was one of those rare times when the bus was late, and my earbuds cut in to let me know that a taxi would arrive in three minutes to pick me up and take me straight to work. That got me to work 15 minutes early, enough time to call Mom to check on her and have a few laughs before starting my housekeeper shift at the hotel. Thank you Metro for caring about me!

As usual, it’s quiet on the bus today - clean and safe, with plentiful, comfortable seating - what a difference from ten years ago when the bus was crowded and always had a foul smell. Service attendants now clean the buses at the end of each trip so the buses

are not trashy like they were before.

My air pods serenade me with my favorite tunes and let me know that my driverless, electric ePod is running on time and will meet me right after I step off the bus for the last mile to the hotel. All very smooth…

Chai

I’ve been a bus operator for ten years, and I love it. I get to drive around the city and see different neighborhoods. I also get to meet a lot of interesting people.

Today, I had a group of Tunisian tourists heading to the natural science museum. They were a chatty bunch, laughing the whole time. Pretty soon I noticed other passengers laughing along with them. It was fun!

Later on, I drove a woman to the hospital. She did not say much, but I could tell she was in pain. I helped her off the bus, and she thanked me.

I am glad that I can make a difference in people’s lives, and I am proud to be a bus operator. Our new CEO really cares about us, and we have rallied behind her call to “walk in the customers’ shoes.” It is such a simple concept, but it gets us all on the same page, from top leaders to bus operators like me. Every time a customer tells me about a problem, I ask questions and try to see it from their point of view just like we practiced in refresher training. And management backs me up when I make minor adjustments to help people out. Like last night, a woman told me that she was afraid of the guys who hang out in front of the liquor store where she gets off the bus at 1:00 a.m., so I let her off in a safer location. The woman thanked me and looked relieved….

Jim

It’s Friday, and I am excited to go out with my boyfriend, Jorge. We plan to hit a museum that just opened up and then go out for fine dining and to a dance club afterwards. I have been looking forward to this all week, so I pick up my phone and tell my AI Assistant what we have in mind. My AI Assistant uses artificial intelligence to create our itinerary, quotes me a flat $5 rate, and asks if it can serve as our transport concierge for the evening. I say

yes! This is half the price I used to pay due to new policies that recognize public transit as an affordable right that everyone should be able to enjoy. And the flat rate is simpler than the complicated transfer fares we used to have before!

Jorge and I arrive early at the train station and stop at the café for a cappuccino. While we drink our coffee, we enjoy a busker performing a reggae version of “Stairway to Heaven” and watch the ever-changing shadows cast by a metal sculpture. The shadows

remind us of our Mexico trip last March to Chichen Itza, where we watched the snake shadow creep across the ancient Mayan pyramid!

The PA system announces that our train will arrive in two minutes, and the LED screen pulsates to catch our attention, so we head down to the platform right on time to step on the train. A transit ambassador named Cass with a bright yellow polo shirt welcomes us on board and offers us a Java card to redeem for a free cappuccino next time we ride. What a pleasant surprise!

Cass

I enjoyed working as a Metro bus cleaner for four years, but now I find fulfillment as a transit ambassador instead. I get to help our guests by answering questions and giving directions, and I love connecting with people and making their day a little easier. I’m proud to work for a transit agency that cares about its customers. And I am grateful that Metro cared enough about me to give me this promotion!

Today, I was helping a woman who was lost. She was trying to get from the train to a bus stop, but she didn’t know how to get there. I showed her on a map, and I even walked her there. She was so grateful for my help.

I also encountered a homeless veteran named Leo who was riding the trains to stay safe and warm. I listen to Leo’s story, then walk him over to a café, and use my “Metro Helping Hand” card to buy him warm coffee and a breakfast burrito. The food helps Leo relax, and he agrees to come to the wrap-around service center for a shower and housing assistance. I ask my AI Assistant to make the necessary arrangements, and I get an immediate reply saying that a van from the service center will pick us up in six minutes. I ask Leo about his family while we wait, and find out that he grew up in St Louis, just like me, and we even went to the same high school!

Tiana

I work as a Metro operations supervisor and make sure that our service is on time and safe. It’s also my job to coach employees and help them practice walking in the customers’ shoes. I check in with dozens of team members a day to see how they are doing and end each conversation by asking them to share a story about walking in the customers’ shoes. I hear such incredible, inspiring experiences. For example, a transit ambassador named Cass tells me how she reunited an autistic boy with his grandparents after they became separated yesterday. Cass told me that she imagined what it must be like for the boy to become lost and channeled her empathy to quickly activate the SOS network and locate the grandparents.

Our big focus this year is to improve the customer experience in order to build ridership. Now I see CX everywhere I look in our organization. We talk about CX in our weekly staff meetings, in one-on-one performance appraisal sessions, in our award celebrations, and even when we have coffee and donuts to welcome new hires or recognize colleagues when they retire. My boss also gets us involved in developing remedies to pain points for consideration in the budget process.

Our agency also sets aside up to 5% of funds to award performance bonuses to all employees based on independently verified key experience indicators (KEIs). Every member of our Metro team earned an extra $3,000 just in the first year by exceeding goals for on-time performance, ridership, and customer ratings of safety and security. I used half to buy really special holiday presents for my three boys and deposited the rest in my retirement account. It’s amazing how everyone comes together to try to earn these bonuses!

Veronica

Phew—I’m done with my hotel shift, so I tell my AI Assistant that I am ready to go home. My AI Assistant tells me that my usual bus is stuck in basketball arena traffic and asks if I want to reroute to another bus instead to save 20 minutes. I say yes, and my AI Assistant tells me an ePod will arrive in three minutes to take me to a bus hub—just enough time to check the School Bus App to confirm that my daughters are on their way home.

The ePod opens its door and I hop in. I love these automated, electric vehicles. Since I am traveling alone today, I have a mini one-seater. Very comfy.

My ePod joins a swarm of other ePods, and we zip by traffic to the bus center, and my connecting bus is waiting when I arrive.

A really friendly bus operator named Chai welcomes me aboard then I chat with a group of Tunisian visitors. They are a funny bunch, and we laugh the whole way there! The Tunisians are watching cat videos and messages keep popping up telling us which ones are deep fakes. Then we switch to a news channel, and we get the same pop ups there - causing all of us to roar in laughter.

Meanwhile, Chai eases into the bus-only lane, and we zip past traffic and get green lights at every intersection. I take a break from the impromptu party and stare out the window. It strikes me that I rarely see tents like I used to, and fewer unhoused individuals on the bus too, now that it’s finally a priority to help people get back on their feet.

All in all, the trip home is smooth and even fun. I had a car for a while but who needs that expense! Metro is a better option, especially now that the hotel covers my cost and the school system covers my daughters’ cost.

Chai

These days, driving the bus is much easier than when I first started, and safer too. The collision avoidance features have reduced accidents by 80%. And I love that I now have a bird’s eye view of my bus so at a glance I can see all pedestrians and vehicles that are

nearby. With the safety sensors and drive assist features, Metro has been able to expand our bus operator hiring pool to include people without a commercial driver’s license. In fact, in the last few months, Metro started encouraging us to keep an eye out for potential candidates working the counter at restaurants and stores. We’re looking for perky people with customer service skills and a fun personality. Everything else Metro can teach!

The other thing that has changed is bus stop curb spaces. I used to lean on the horn to get cars and delivery trucks to move out of the way. But now, there is this new curb system that allows cars and delivery trucks to pay to temporarily sit in bus stop zones when they are not needed based on real-time bus arrival information. Plus, penalties are assessed when the car or delivery vehicle fails to vacate on time. Now bus stops are clear 99% of the time I need them, and all the new revenue funds bus stop improvements like real-time signs, artwork, and shade trees and solar-powered fans to keep riders cool in the summer. What a great program!

Lately, my supervisor Tiana has been encouraging me to think about promotional opportunities. Some of the short bus routes are now fully autonomous, and Metro has plowed the savings into running more buses and cutting wait times in half. With these

changes, Metro needs more mechanics and technicians. In fact, Metro converted a vacant downtown office building into a technical training center, and they are offering to teach me everything I need to know to make the transition. Some of the other bus operators are in training to become security staff or ambassadors. There are lots of opportunities to consider right now. My spouse and I have a date tonight to discuss all the options!

Jim

The museum is amazing. It’s full of incredible art and artifacts. We spend the next few hours exploring the exhibits, then my AI Assistant walks us to our favorite Mediterranean restaurant, and we order savory chicken shawarma, humus and pita bread, a bottle

of wine to share, and a baklava that is delicate and flaky for dessert. Yum! We talk and laugh for hours. It’s the perfect way to end a perfect afternoon. Then it’s on to dancing, and we are having so much fun that we don’t even notice how late it is.

Finally, I pull out my phone and tell my AI Assistant that we’re ready to go home. My AI Assistant escorts us to the closest train station and listens to our surroundings as we walk so it can call for help if there are any security problems.

Metro recently doubled the number of nighttime trains, so the wait is just five minutes. We board the train and settle into one of the “love” seats designed for couples. Just as we’re getting settled, there is an audio announcement calling out a guy at the other end

of our car who just lit up a cigarette, and he quickly puts it out to avoid having the cameras dispatch security staff. I love that the cameras automatically detect these kinds of things and

immediately respond.

On the ride back, I ask Jim about his sister Emma. Emma, who is blind, recently found a new and improved AI-powered system that verbalizes everything in her path—stop signs, curbs, landmarks, bus stops, and stray scooters that block the sidewalk. This enables her to seamlessly ride transit and navigate the city like never before. I am so happy for her!

We also talk about the new third party that can connect riders who travel on the same bus or train and want to meet other riders with common interests. Just to see how it works, we open the app and see there are seven people on the first car chatting about last night’s basketball game and six people on the second car chatting about cross stitch techniques. Interesting. Maybe I’ll try it some time.

Cass

Tonight is challenging because we have bus detours due to the Chinese New Year parade. Fortunately, Metro loaded this great tool on my iPad that uses AI and real-time information to reroute customers. I use it to help a group of customers get back on track after the detour took them off course—turning a bad evening into a wow moment that left them feeling that Metro really cares about them.

I spend the second half of my shift on the trains. It’s not nearly as “eventful” as it used to be at night. I love the new very smart cameras that detect problems like smoking, altercations, or urination. The system automatically shows dispatchers a video feed, activates announcements to warn perpetrators, and dispatches security, mental health workers, and cleanup crews. It can even trigger enhanced ventilation on the train when necessary. What a

difference the very smart system is making for our customers and employees!

Tiana

Funny thing. Just before my shift ended at 11 p.m., I saw the CEO on the train and said hello. She recognized me and thanked me for my service and, of course, asked me to tell her a recent story about how I walked in the customers’ shoes. Just like I do with

my employees!

By now, maybe you’ve got my number. Yes, I am an avid environmentalist, and yes, a fire burns in my belly to make the customer experience wonderful so that as many people take transit as possible. The life of our planet hangs in the balance as everyone knows from the coastal flooding and wildfire smoke that hangs over us for months at a time. I recently joined a CX affinity group of like-minded employees, and we get together every week to support each other and share information.

One of the recent projects we took on was to work with IT to connect supervisors and other staff with the new AI tool that constantly monitors social media posts and operational data to

quickly detect pain points and alert us so we can respond rapidly. This had made a huge difference. At this week’s meeting, we voted on the next big project and decided to survey all employees about obstacles they run into when they try to improve customer experiences.

I can’t wait to get started!

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The purpose of these short vignettes was to illustrate how a systematic and continual focus on customer needs can drive dramatic improvements to transit customer experiences. I hope you have enjoyed this journey into the future. Now let's go out and make it happen!

Tip: As you build a future customer experience vision for your agency, try this visioning exercise. Meet with community stakeholders and riders to ask questions like these:

• What are some of the top pain points that transit customers experience today?

• Why do many people drive or take ride-hail services instead of transit?

• How could transit service be reimagined to provide a better customer experience?

• What could we do to go beyond providing good service to actually surprise and delight our customers in the future?

  
  

As you envision the future, do not forget to engage employees - they are essential stakeholders! Ask employees the aforementioned questions, plus ask questions like:

• What current processes, procedures, rules, or other limitations get in the way of improving the customer experience?

• What changes could help address these obstacles?

• What changes could the agency make to support and inspire employees to deliver excellent services?