First Great Western is aiming improve customer information during delays with the launch of its industry-first online Passenger Information During Disruption (PIDD) initiative.
A national passenger survey shows that almost a quarter of passengers rate the way train companies deal with delays as “poor,” calling for First Great Western to create an accessible platform for passenger updates.
PIDD is the first travel hub to combine industry feeds to give passengers unprecedented access to real-time train schedules and running data, live departure boards and re-routing information.
The centralised hub will streamline user journeys to improve clarity with Twitter integrated to push live updates and provide a personalised response to disruptions.
Digital agency ORM partnered with First Great Western’s Digital Marketing Manager – Jason Ali and his team to research key customer scenarios to provide a centralised online location, improving how disruption information is conveyed to customers. Key customer scenarios included storm disruptions, delays due to signalling problems and planned disruptions such as engineering work or bank holidays.
Currently, travel advice pages on the site are visited by 65,000 users a month. PIDD aims to double the number of monthly visits to its travel advice section and will enable users receiving journey information to sign-up for journey alerts as part of First Great Western’s customer-centred vision. This initiative is part of First Great Western’s wider brand strategy in Building a Greater West to make a positive difference to its customer’s journeys.
Jason Ali, digital marketing manager explains, “First Great Western’s customers are increasingly tech savvy and demand honest and transparent updates in real-time. PIDD will provide an accessible way to interact with passengers, improving service with a complete, up to the minute picture of how long delays will last with planning tools to help them with their onward journey.”
Lorenzo Vasini, business development director at ORM continues, “Detailed user testing was vital to designing a platform that will improve customer satisfaction when delays occur. Understanding its customer’s plight enables First Great Western to make a positive difference during disruption with relevant, timely content in a format that suits its passengers.”
https://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/travel-updates