Technology company Zipabout has created a platform that it claims will incentivise bus use by connecting operators with brands, businesses and retailers and providing rewards for passengers.
Zipabout says that the solution improves the bus passenger experience and loyalty by offering rewards and a ‘thank you’ for returning to public transport. It can also incentivise behaviour by managing passenger flow around busy times or encouraging off-peak travel. The product is delivered to passengers by what Zipabout calls “a trusted channel,” which can include the operator’s app.
A pre-Christmas lockdown trial was undertaken in Oxford with EagleEye Solutions and its AIR digital marketing platform to enable in-store reward redemption. Zipabout collaborated with a large café chain and Oxfordshire County Council’s Oxontime bus information service across Stagecoach and Oxford Bus Company (OBC).
Passengers using OBC’s Oxontime Connect on Messenger received a ‘thank you for travelling’ message and they were offered a free hot drink at their local café chain. At the end of their journey they received a unique QR code and directions to their nearest store to redeem it.
Says Zipabout CEO Alex Froom: “Zipabout’s real-time personalised information service already helps passengers to travel easily and safely. It can now connect operators with brands and retailers, empowering them to reward and incentivise sustainable travel and help to kickstart a green-led economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.”
Adds OBC Managing Director Phil Southall: “Zipabout’s technology means that we are able to work with retailers and local hospitality businesses to reward our mutual customers and help to encourage footfall back to our local high streets.
“This will be a really useful tool in helping us to support our communities’ recovery from the pandemic. We are already thinking about how me might be able to extend the use of this technology further.”
