Annual Conference and Canadian Transit Show 2018

Session Themes:  

1) Selling the idea of Transit
How to engage the public to use transit? How do you convince the public that transit matters? 

a. What is the transit value proposition vs. single occupancy vehicles?
b. How do we use good design principles – like Universal Access - to drive ridership?
c. How to manage shrinking budgets against the need to increase ridership? 
d. The price is right – creative fare products to grow ridership 
e. How to reinvent bus services to woo new customers?
f. How do we tap into the market of the customer who thinks transit is for people who can’t afford a car? What are the benefits for a car-owner to use transit? Or transit is for my commute to work but not for my family’s needs on the weekends 

2) Anticipating the evolving transit needs of customers
As cities change and grow, how can transit change and adapt accordingly? How can transit and technology meet the changing expectations of customers? 

a. Working with transit partners to strengthen seamless regional travel 
b. Shifting demographics and matching service to new lifestyle needs – e.g. new parents, new Canadians, retiring commuters, sandwich generation 
c. Building new service capacity or infrastructure to meet demand 
d. New technologies to enhance customer experience 
e. Integrating on-demand services to better meet the needs of customers
f. The First/Last mile discussion is key here. Need to make it easy and economical to take transit the whole way 
g. Leveraging commercial joint-ventures to enhance the First/Last mile customer experience
h. Using innovative technologies to enhance the customer experience and/or increase readership 
i. Applying disruptive technologies to improve mobility and the customer experience 
j. Personalization: Tailoring the customer experience using technology
k. Using technology to keep customer information safe (e.g. Cyber security)

3) Building a customer-first culture 
How can public transit put customers at the heart of every decision?

a. Training and change management required to put the customer at the heart of everything you do.
b. Using owned social media channels to listen to the voice of the customer
c. Tapping into the power of employee networks who are also the customer 
d. How to design and manage operator contracts for quality against the end user – the customer
e. How do we ensure a consistent regional customer experience? Customers should not be expected to need to know the differences between the agencies 

4) Deep customer insights and data that drives solutions 
Can solving customer concerns lead to further innovations in technology and safety? 

a. Applying jurisdictional evidence and case studies to drive customer satisfaction – absolute quality versus perceived quality
b. How customer safety initiatives drive revenue 
c. Website traffic patterns that reveal gaps in service needs 
d. Using customer journey mapping to alleviate pain points - within one agency and for door-to-door travel across modes and operators 
e. Test, learn and apply: measuring the impact of new customer initiatives 
f. How do we tap into the huge data and make it information? How do we add additional services/value to the customer with creative loyalty programs?