Metro & the Digital Future event Nov. 7 to focus on improving rider experience

by ,
Tech

Click above to visit a web page with more information on the event.

One topic that is frequently raised at Metro Board meetings: technology, the rider experience and which tech tools Metro should be pursuing. And, as regular readers of The Source know, this is a topic discussed and debated (and debated some more!) on our comment board.

In that spirit, Metro is convening a one-day technology roundtable “Metro and the Digital Future” on Friday, Nov. 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Metro headquarters. The event will feature industry leaders who will discuss how technology can improve the customer experience on Metro.

Qualified entrepreneurs and firms can also make a pitch to Metro with their ideas. Click here for the pitch form.

“Metro and the Digital Future is a unique pitch-style event that tackles some of Metro’s toughest customer experience challenges by eliciting insight from top-tier solution providers and combining it with constructive critique by a variety of subject matter experts from throughout North America,” says Dave Edwards, Metro’s Chief Information Officer.

Among the topics to be discussed:

•Trip planning

•Next-generation fare payments

•Wi-fi on transit

•Virtual agents/kiosks

•Car sharing

•Bike sharing

•driverless vehicles

•Concierge services

•Gamification/loyalty programs

Participants will include those from firms specializing in these topics as well as transit chief information officers, academics, private sector representatives and Metro staff. The event will also be open to the general public, but space is limited and registration is required.

For more information, please click here.

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14 replies ›

    • I was at a service council meeting where the estimated number of fare evaders was mentioned. It was shockingly big. Maybe the editor of the source could find out the numbers and post a story here about the numbers. And what Metro plans to do about it.

  2. Metro really needs to get down to the basics for rider experience. Since the bus drivers have to alert the control center when a bus is closed to capacity. Can Metro provide real-time bus or rail overcrowding information so that we, the riders, can plan our trips accordingly.

  3. The most import item that needs to be looked at is adding cell service to the Red/Purple line. It can slow things down when needing help if the operator is really your only line to the outside world.

    • Hi MetroRider;

      A contract has been approved for a firm to install equipment that will allow cell service in underground stations. I’m waiting to hear a timeline for project installation and completion and will pass along that info to riders and taxpayers when I get it.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

  4. One of the guests is “Clair Fiet; Chief of Business Solutions & Technology – Utah Transit Authority”

    Since UTA is currently undergoing testing and is the first transit agency in the US using distance based fares onboard buses, albeit in beta-test form, this is another area that can be discussed too: how technology makes transit fare pricing more fairer with a distance based fare system and the science behind the pricing model:

    http://universe.byu.edu/2014/10/07/utah-transit-authoritys-distance-based-fare-test-focuses-on-byu/

    “UTA spokesman Remi Barron said this new test is part of UTA’s fare analysis project. ‘We have some other arrangements with universities (and businesses),’ Barron said. ‘But we’ve never really looked at distance-based fares in a scientific way.’ “

    • If you read the article, you will find that the distance based fares are _lower_ than their base fare. Not more like everyone here seems to advocate. I think here with Metro the $1.75 everyone pays to get on is less than Metro’s cost for a person to get on a bus or LRT. Metro’s problem is that they can not charge anywhere near the cost of any rider.

      • “I think here with Metro the $1.75 everyone pays to get on is less than Metro’s cost for a person to get on a bus or LRT.”

        If you just get on a bus, it costs nothing. A person can hop on the bus, ask the bus driver if it’s going somewhere and if not, the person can get off the bus at that same point without incurring any charge.

        It’s the TRAVEL on board the bus that has the cost that needs to be passed along to the passenger. And the amount of travel on the bus (or rail) differs from person to person. Some people only need to use the bus to go the supermarket less than 2 miles away. Others use it to commute over 20 miles a day.

        You can’t really say that it’s fair to charge $1.75 for the bus rider who travels only 2 miles on one bus to the closest supermarket as opposed to the long distance traveler who rides the bus for over 20 miles across several bus transfers.

  5. “Next-generation fare payments”

    With the launch of Apple Pay only days away, this should be looked at closely.

  6. Metro needs to also think outside the box. Technology can make traveling better. Think Jitney for door to door service, or to close by intersections.

  7. How about making the taptogo.net website more user-friendly and easier to understand?