Today’s rider experience has a lot of steps in it, especially with COVID being thrown into the mix. In order to get the job done, riders have to bounce around to a bunch of different places to get the info they need to ride.
Let’s do a quick review of all the things your riders need to ride, and where your riders most likely need to go for the info they need:
Route maps / schedules: Going to your website and digging through PDFs (some of which might not be updated for COVID and are possibly confusing riders)
Ticketing: Riders have to locate the nearest ticket window and purchase or reload their monthly passes. Additionally, riders need to make sure they have the right amount of cash on them before riding if they don’t have a card.
Rider alerts: Get these on text messages, or most riders miss these if they don’t sign up in the first place. This can cause lots of confusion, especially with more frequent alerts during COVID
Transit tracking: You might have a standalone app for this, or use a generic app. You might make riders use Google Maps as well, but this can be just another tool they need to use alongside your website, receiving texts, combing through documents, etc. They also can’t see live updates of where buses are at all times.
Agency notifications: Monitoring your website - Riders need to constantly check out what’s new and stay top of mind with your new announcements and updates to your ridership. All you can do is hope that people see what you’re posting.
Customer service help: Riders have to a section on your website, then your agency has to hope it gets routed to the right person internally depending on the issue.
All these data sources leave riders unsure about which information is updated and accurate, especially in the midst of COVID. Leaving a rider high and dry at a bus stop because they missed a route change or agency alert could make them lose trust in riding, especially if they were hesitant to begin riding again in the midst of COVID.
As we can see, having over half a dozen workflows and spots for riders to navigate in order to just take a trip is overwhelming. It might also be the reason why your ridership numbers might not rebound like you’re expecting. App and information fatigue is real, and your riders are expecting to have all the above in one location, not in 6+ spots.
Tixora can help you consolidate your info, or you can compare compare other mobile ticketing + transit tracking providers here.
If you’d like to help weigh your options and see how Tixora helps you combine your mobile ticketing, transit planning/tracking, rider alerts, agency notifications, and support into one spot, drop us a line at hello@tixora.com.