Mobility Management Takes a Page from Amazon's Winning Strategy for Customer Service
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Mobility Management Takes a
Page from Amazon’s Winning
Strategy for Customer Service
by David J. Cyra, PE
coordinate transportation. Mobility and expands its services to include
Amazon continues to defy retail
management takes the principle of those travel options found in the
trends and not only succeed but grow
the overall customer experience and community. What does the customer
sales in our challenging economy.
applies that to transportation service need, and how can I change and
The key to their success is a focus
within our communities, regions and expand my service offerings to ensure
on the ‘customer experience.’
states. improved mobility no matter what
According to an interview with VP
their circumstance?
of Site Development at Amazon, the
As defined by the Federal
customer experience [is] “infused
Transit Administration, “Mobility There are three key elements to
throughout all levels of the company.
management is an approach setting up a mobility management
We also have a usability team with
to service development and operation: Determining what the
people in the roles you’d expect.
management that focuses on riding public needs, securing the
But when people ask why it is that
individualized customer markets funding, and training the people
Amazon.com has this focus, the key
and involves establishing a variety of and utilizing technology to pull the
is that it’s not one person, or one
services tailored to meet the needs of resources and providers all together.
team, responsible for the overall
those markets.”
customer experience. Everyone in
Sizing up your Riding Public
the company owns it.” (Interview by
While traditional transit centers
Mark Hurst, Good Experience)
plan services based on their fleet Generally, your customers will fall
of buses and other fixed equipment into four broad groups: the elderly,
Mobility management is the
and assets, mobility management children, low income citizens, and
culmination of many efforts
starts with the customer in mind persons with disabilities.
over the years to streamline and
22 Community Transportation
Mobility management presumes management expenses for eligible This data should be collected in a
that whatever mobility is needed, grant recipients. format useable for both management
can be made available. That’s why and budget development purposes.
the first step is to decide what needs SAFETEA-LU also affords Accurate, current and complete
must be met; in effect, create a a new option to use non-DOT disclosure of the financial results of
marketing plan that looks at the transportation funding or service financially-assisted activities must
following: contracts to meet matching be made in accordance with the
requirements. The law defines financial reporting requirements of
• Who is eligible and how are mobility management as “short- the designated grant recipient or
they to be served? range planning and management subrecipient.
• What is the market share? activities and projects for
• What needs are proposed to be improving coordination among The Human Part of the Mobility
met? public transportation and other Management Equation
• What current services are transportation providers.”
available? Creating a mobility management
• Are there gaps or redundancies Some of the funding programs that program requires that a group of
in service? can be used to help build and grow people have a vested and shared
your mobility management center are interest in the ‘human side’ of
With these questions answered, listed below: transportation service. Any group
you can then develop a service plan, can do mobility management:
address gaps or duplication in service • 5307- FTA Urbanized Area a traditional fixed route transit
and prioritize services. Formula Program operator, a group of non-profit
• 5310 – Elderly & Disabled organizations, regional centers that
Aside from marketing, these Program focus on human services or even a
‘prompt’ questions help the provider • 5311 – Non-Urbanized Area community of citizens. The key is
or regional human service entities Program that a common element is the need
prove out the positive economic and • 5316 – JARC (Job Access for improved mobility.
human service impact of a mobility Reverse Commute)
management center – an important • 5317 – New Freedom There are going to be market
consideration when it comes to • 20 percent Local match can and program barriers that must
funding. come from other non-DOT be addressed head-on. Funding
federal funds limitations, geography and lack
For example, the marketing of authority to push the program
plan could show how mobility Pulling together the numbers through will keep the center from
management could create and/or needed to qualify for many resources getting off the ground. And, some
stabilize jobs, assist in increasing requires the collection of cost and market barriers, such as lack of
tax revenues, enhance educational revenue data to identify all the providers, cultural and language
opportunities, improve the quality of financial information required to barriers and regulations, will need
life, enhance access to health care, support a transportation program. some more finesse and creativity to
or protect the environment.
But fundamentally, your mobility
management center should be a
one stop (place), one call (phone
number), and web-based site where
people can get information about
mobility. When the customer
“virtually” visits the center, they
can learn about eligibility, travel
training, schedule and check on a
ride, and have that ride dispatched to
a provider.
Show Me the Money
Mobility management activities
are eligible to receive funding under
SAFETEA-LU.Mobility management
is an eligible capital expense under
most Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) programs. This means FTA
can fund up to 80 percent of mobility
Community Transportation 23
overcome. ITS was the linchpin to mobility. In accessibility features, and allow
2004, USDOT’s ITS Joint Program service integration with existing fixed
When you see how your Office launched the MSAA initiative (flex) route public transportation
mobility program can facilitate – a program whose aim is to bring services.
communication with riders, communities together in providing
providers, and stakeholders, a single point of access to meet Software and hardware
matching riders with providers and mobility needs, to cut through all components of the ITS allow the
maximizing resources to better meet the service and funding redundancy, mobility management center, or the
rider needs, you’re ready to go. and establish a replicable model that TMCC in the case of the MSAA
shows how providers and agencies program, to respond to both fixed
First, the manager needs to select can utilize ITS to address the rising and on-demand trip requests,
the right people and assign and costs and needs of all riders. coordinate trips among many
distribute work. Once employees different providers and communicate
are trained and developed to achieve After an initial first design phase directly – via phone, Web or texting
the specific goals of the mobility with eight sites, three sites - Paducah – with customers. For operations, an
management center, then there Area Transit System (PATS) in ITS allows managers to pull data for
needs to be a defined set of measures Paducah, Ky; Lower Savannah analysis, reporting and cost control.
for evaluating performance, Council of Governments in Aiken,
communication and decision making. S.C.; and the Camden County According to the National
Workforce Investment Board in Conference of State Legislatures,
Technology Keeps the Parts Camden County, N.J. - were mobility management includes
Moving Smoothly ultimately selected in early 2009 by the following policies, and these
US DOT for the next implementation alone are reason enough to utilize
With a mobility management phase to build a Travel Management automated technology:
center, technology becomes the Coordination Center (TMCC).
engine ensuring services run on- • Provide various options, such
time and can respond to changes The TMCC would use ITS as public transportation,
and on-demand requests from the to: integrate point of access for vanpool, ride-share and demand
riding public. This is what Intelligent travelers, improve fleet scheduling, responsive services;
Transport Systems (ITS) were dispatching, routing, streamline • Increase travel options and
designed for: moving riders when reporting, billing and financial traveler convenience;
and where needed in the most cost- transaction, simplify fare payment, • Use a one–call system to provide
efficient and responsive way. collection and processing, enhance information and access to all
traveler information and travel travel options; and
The federal government saw that management flexibility with • Use congestion management
24 Community Transportation
strategies, coordinating Transportation. October, 2008, the Interagency
public transportation with Council on Transportation
infrastructure and land use Grants and additional funding Coordination (ICTC) was formed
planning. broadened the net of what they with part of its mission being
provide for customers. With the to develop a state model of
Paducah Believes in Serving All recent $1.4 million grant from coordination.
Needs of Community MSAA, Paducah Transit is using
the funding for the expansion of an Mobility management was one of
When you look at Paducah Area existing call center to cover a larger the eleven priorities identified in the
Transit System, you’ll find a provider geographic area and provide around- 2006 Coordinated Public Transit
that is committed heart and soul to, the-clock access to traveler support. - Human Services Transportation
as they state, “thinking out of the Plans.
box.” The only 24x7 operator in The strengthened call center will
the state, Paducah Transit offers an add customer-oriented features, Through the coordination planning
eight-county wide dial-a-ride service, such as a regionally connected process, in partnership with local
van pools, and will even deliver UPS telephone system, Internet-based areas, the State developed nationally
and FedEx packages, providing up trip reservations, automated regional recognized mobility management
to 1,600 rides a day. And Paducah scheduling and system management programs in 29 regions across the
Transit has either been a broker or a features, interactive voice response state. To implement the vision
Medicaid transportation provider for (IVR), connections with Kentucky’s locally, the State embarked on
Kentucky’s HSTD (Human Service 511 travel information center, and working with local areas to hire
Transportation Delivery) program customer “where’s my ride” real time and provide thorough training for
since 1999, and is also a provider status information. the over 40 mobility managers in
for the Illinois state Medicaid the state. Once the training was
transportation program in three Through the MSAA grant, complete, these new trailblazers were
southern Illinois counties. Paducah Transit aims for nothing ready to hit the ground running with
less than becoming a fully functional an awareness of resources and best
Operating under the mobility mobility manager by utilizing smart practices and a strong peer network
management umbrella, Paducah cards, developing a 211 human with other mobility managers in the
Transit automates their customer service information center, and using state and across the nation.
services using RouteMatch’s onboard vehicle camera systems,
advanced Geographic Information kiosks in community locations, and Wisconsin’s mobility management
Systems (GIS)-based routing and disaster recovery capabilities. projects are funded by WETAP
scheduling system, an advanced (Wisconsin Employment
telephone system, automated vehicle Wisconsin Establishes Strong Transportation Assistance Program),
location, and in vehicle mobile Peer Network FTA New Freedom, FTA Section
data communications to coordinate 5311 and/or a variety of state
transportation in their service In Wisconsin, mobility funding programs and combinations
area. Paducah Transit has also management began when Governor of available funding opportunities.
partnered with three other regional Doyle charged heads of state In 2008, only six of 72 counties
transportation partners to develop agencies to work toward eliminating were not yet involved in mobility
a new regional transportation administrative barriers that prohibit management projects. Some of the
service called the Purchase Area transportation coordination. In programs include: car loan programs,
Community Transportation 25
The ITS Opportunity A successful TMCC provides benefits to: MSAA Initiative Approach
• Customers with a simplified, one-
ITS presents the opportunity to seamlessly stop access to unified travel support Working collaboratively with the
new service, voucher and volunteer driver programs, travel training and other bus buddy or escort programs, rideshare, carpool and shuttle programs. Whether the trip is for essential medical care or to enhance their quality of life, residents can rely on the Wisconsin mobility management program to help them get from Point A to Point B. Summary In the public transportation sector, pressure to embrace change is mounting despite acceleration in the expansion of traditional services and a dramatic resurgence in transit ridership. Lessons learned from the broader transportation sector, whether it is intermodal freight, airline alliances or package delivery, along with state of the art information technologies and various cooperative agreements among service providers allow a strategic focus on the quality of the customer’s experience. Mobility management is enabling public transit and human service transport to combine and concentrate on the ‘customer experience’ – designing a mobility program designed to treat the riding customer as an obsession by coordinating their needs with appropriate resources. David J. Cyra is the Principal of CYRA ETTC and the FTA Region IX United We Ride Ambassador. 26 Community Transportation
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