Public transportation in the digital age is faced with the challenge to adapt to evolving customer expectations. As customers become used to features like one-touch payment and real-time updates from businesses in the private sector, transit risks a wide customer satisfaction gap if it lags behind in technological tools and innovations. Fortunately, agencies across the U.S. are adopting technology as part of their service. A few examples:
- WMATA has enabled a touch-free fare system that allows passengers to pay by iPhone in place of a Smartrip card.
- As paratransit demand has increased post-COVID, South Dakota Transit employed an on-demand micro transit program.
- L.A. Metro is utilizing data from automated passenger counters (APCs) to find ways to alert riders to crowded buses — especially useful in the age of social distancing.
As transit systems examine ways to connect technological solutions to their passengers’ specific needs and concerns, it has the potential drastically improve customer satisfaction and begin drawing more favorable comparisons with the private sector.
