Work with business to realise sustainable travel
Rail passenger numbers are increasing, and we should now look to consolidate this return to rail by creating a smarter and more ambitious customerfocused railway with innovation at its core.
At a recent Accelerate rail event, Rail Delivery Group CEO Jacqueline Starr passionately spoke to the industry, urging it to focus on three areas to ensure customers return to the railway: enacting a retail revolution; targeted marketing; and ensuring customer reassurance. She went further to say we need to drive a culture that is fully customer-centric.
Encouraging greener journeys relies on rewarding travel choices, and collaboration with retail as an active partner is the key. We at Zipabout have seen first-hand that when retailers and transport operators work together, everyone benefits - driving both footfall to the High Street as well as nudging sustainable change by incentivising passengers with rewards and offers to choose the train.
As an example of what’s possible, we have trialled several successful campaigns with retail partners such as WH Smith. Not only did these trials optimise the return on investment on ad spend and drive footfall for those retailers, they also encouraged sustainable behaviour change.
By integrating the retailer within the passenger journey in a highly targeted way, we can offer (for example) a free coffee for taking the train instead of driving, or a free newspaper and sandwich for taking the less busy train.
It’s important to remember that there is no ‘one size fits all’. For incentivisation to be effective, each passenger will need to be targeted based on their specific demographics.
For instance, commuters who travel each day on the train can be rewarded for loyalty, whereas leisure travellers, such as a family of four travelling for a day trip during the school half-term, can be rewarded for taking the sustainable train option rather than the car.
Such rail industry/retail collaboration goes far beyond simply encouraging people to take the train and boosting revenue. By incentivising passengers to travel during off-peak times, or to take a less busy train, there are also huge advantages for train operators.
This collaborative strategy helps operators boost efficiencies, optimise their networks, and help with crowding. These are benefits that many of our rail operator clients, such as East Midlands Railway, c2c and LNER, are already seeing first-hand.
Getting people back onboard is paramount for the bigger net zero picture, putting a dent in those private car usage levels which have disappointingly rebounded post-pandemic.
It’s all about improving the passenger experience and, specifically, about putting real-time journey information into passenger hands at exactly the right time and place, so they can not only travel safely with confidence, but also make the sustainable choice when the option arises.
Incentivisation is one route. Another, just as important, is to ensure that rail is integrated into the wider sustainable travel network. There is little point incentivising a traveller to not drive to the railway station when there is no alternative easily accessible sustainable option.
Joining up micro-mobility companies (such as TIER and Voi) with the rail network is an example of the rail industry working hand in hand with the private sector for the good of the passenger, and should be further explored to inspire greener travel.
We are not saying that just one incentive will attract passengers back to the railway, and understand this is no easy feat. But with greater communication, collaboration and incentivisation, rail operators can change perceptions and encourage safer and more sustainable travel on public transport.
And with the right strategy and technology behind it, operators, retailers and passengers can all benefit.
Alex Froom, Chief Executive Officer, Zipabout