Integrated solution to increase public transit ridership and strengthen customer engagement
Vix Technology (“Vix”) and Miles have teamed up to deliver an integrated ticketing and automated rider loyalty and rewards solution for transit agencies across North America. This partnership offers transit operators a new tool to increase ridership by rewarding passenger loyalty and reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips that create traffic congestion and contribute to air pollution and climate change.
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The combination of Miles’ rider loyalty program and Vix’s fare payment systems allows transit passengers to link their preferred fare payment method, such as contactless bank cards, closed-loop transit cards, and mobile apps. The integration utilizes ridership data collected by the fare system to enable hyper-targeted and individualized loyalty programs focused on specific transit or social equity initiatives.
Transit agencies can gain a clearer, data-driven understanding of their rider base through the Vix and Miles integrated solution. In addition to providing transit agencies with rider data insights, passengers also benefit through the exclusive rewards they earn with Miles’ individualized rewards program. Through the Miles and Vix integration, transit agencies can return to pre-pandemic rider levels more quickly by offering targeted incentives.
“The integration of Miles’ next-generation mobility loyalty program with Vix’s transit ticketing platform allows public transit providers to provide game-changing benefits to customers. Some examples include providing incentives to current single-occupancy drivers to try transit instead, differentiating rewards for economically disadvantaged riders, and issuing free transit tickets as rewards that can be fulfilled in the Miles app with a touchless payment solution,” said Gabe Klein, Cityfi co-founder and former commissioner of the Chicago and Washington, D.C. Departments of Transportation.
Miles is the first universal rewards app that delivers value for every mile of commute and travel across every mode of transportation. Miles’ automated rewards program requires no user logging of trips and rewards users for all their travel, no matter how they get from point A to point B, such as driving, taking a bus, or riding the train. Miles allows transit agencies to create exclusive rewards for current customers and new passengers alike, including incentives for drivers to swap to public transit. Miles’ bundled analytics enable transit agencies to understand the percentage of passengers who alter their behavior based on a given reward, verifying both mode shift and change in vehicle miles traveled.
Vix has been designing, delivering, operating, and maintaining some of the world’s leading transit ticketing systems for more than over 30 years. Some of Vix’s customers include ORCA (Puget Sound regional transit system in Washington State), DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit), and Phoenix in the U.S., as well as Edmonton in Canada. Now, Vix’s customers will have the ability to reward loyal passengers and incentivize mode shift among prospective riders through the integration of Miles.
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All of the automated logging and reward redemptions are completed directly in the Miles app to provide users with a seamless experience while helping streamline existing transit agency operations. Riders can simply download the app, available on iOS and Android, and immediately begin to benefit. Transit agencies can also create new incentives, or ‘challenges,’ to influence rider behavior on the fly, choosing from more than 200 existing merchant rewards, or by rewarding riders with discounted or free tickets, through integration with Vix systems.
“Miles makes it easy and fun for Contra Costa’s residents to earn rewards for everyday travel. Miles also helps our agency better understand how people are moving throughout the county,” said Randy Iwasaki, Executive Director of California’s Contra Costa Transportation Authority.
Agencies that have provided rewards in Miles’ app for local citizens that primarily drive cars report between 1% and 4% of users showing documented mode shift to greener forms of transportation, with the percentage varying by local conditions and type of reward. In addition to traffic and environmental benefits, most transit rewards end up paying for themselves via farebox recovery.
“This partnership offers transit agencies across North America a more engaging, more impactful experience that increases ridership, supports sustainable modes of transportation, and helps bridge the social equity gap,” said Adrian Kelly, Vix Technology Chief Product Officer.
“Miles is excited to work with Vix to offer agencies a way to integrate rewards with their ticketing platform for a single contactless solution. Transit agencies can take a data-driven approach to rewarding existing riders and incentivizing single occupancy vehicles to try transit,” said Jigar Shah, Co-founder and CEO of Miles.
