This week, we have two intersecting interviews covering customer experience and innovation in transit. We start off with Paul talking with Aaron Weinstein of Transit CX about creating customer experience (CX) programs within transit agencies. We continue with Brandon Bartneck, GM of Edison Manufacturing and Engineering and the host of the Future of Mobility podcast, talking about transit innovation and manufacturing.

Aaron talks about building a customer experience mindset within transit agencies. As Paul notes in the interview, according to APTA, customer experience-customer service is the number one KPI agencies are tracking. It makes sense; you can’t grow ridership and attract new riders if the experience of using transit isn’t enjoyable. Aaron outlines the steps for creating a customer experience program and how journey mapping helps you figure out where your rough spots are--and then fix them.

We move from CX to innovation and manufacturing with Brandon. Edison Manufacturing helps companies produce things at small scale to test and trial. Or things that companies will only need a few of.

Why is this important to innovation? Because right now, as we test and trial new zero and low emissions vehicles or new autonomous vehicles, we need to prove the model before large scale manufacturing is worth the risk. How does this connect with CX? As Brandon talks about with Paul, the coolest scooters, e-bikes, autonomous vehicles, or microtransit options won’t make a difference to mobility or access to transit if the entire experience is connected and seamless throughout the entire journey. Shiny, new innovations won’t get the results people are looking for unless integrated payment solutions, and convenient pickup/drop off options are part of the picture too.

We also hear from Elea Carey with her Messaging Minute, talking about playing the long-game in transit marketing messaging.

Next week on Transit Unplugged we hear from Martin Bean, CEO of Roam Transit in Banff, Alberta. Martin talks about how he’s providing transit solutions not just for his community, but the millions of tourists who come to Banff every year. Paul’s chat with Martin was all part of his tour of Western Canada in April. Want to get a peek? Check out the Transit Unplugged TV episode from Vancouver.

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(00:00) Transit Customer Experience with Aaron Weinstein and Innovation with Brandon Bartneck (01:50) Aaron Weinstein on improving customer experience in transit (15:09) Messaging Minute with Elea Carey (17:21) Interview with Brandon Bartneck host of Future of Mobility and GM of Edison Manufacturing and Engineering (35:27) Coming up next week on Transit Unplugged

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