Loyalty Platform for Transit Authority
Project Overview
Sabii Digital was engaged on an ideation study with the Chief Digital Officer and the Chief Marketing Officer at one of the nation’s largest transit authorities. The goal of the study was to identify digital initiatives that can positively improve customer engagement and customer experience. The work led to the design, development and implementation of a new loyalty and rewards platform. The focus of the loyalty program was to engage with riders in a fun way and reward them for their travel. In late 2019, Sabii Digital partnered with a transit company to implement a loyalty program aimed at enhancing ridership engagement and customer satisfaction.
Capabilities: Loyalty
Tools & Softwares: Custom LoyaltyPerx Rewards platform, Zoho, HubSpot
Industry: Transportation
Project Duration: 4+ years (ongoing)
Business Problem
The team was tasked to develop a loyalty program that would engage with existing customers to improve their overall experience with the transit authority and to increase ridership. The team also had to buy or build an underlying loyalty platform that would work within the constraints of the semi-government client. Due to State funding restrictions, there needed to be a creative way to provide rewards to the riders. Since the client was funded by the State, they had restrictions on providing free rides. So the team had to come up with a creative and novel business model.
The team developed a network-based loyalty program, where local and national retailers and service providers were engaged to provide rewards for the transit riders. The incentive for these retailers and service providers was access to new customers. For example, a local coffee shop could use the platform to publish discount coupons that could be redeemed by the riders in lieu of their loyalty points. This turned out to be a win-win-win solution for the riders, retailers and the transit authority.
Proposed Solution
Sabii Digital implemented the new rewards program using the LoyaltyPerx platform, which offered a points-based system where customers earned rewards for purchasing transit tickets. The key elements of the solution included:
Incentivizing ridership behavior: Bonus points were issued for purchasing monthly passes, airport tickets, and event tickets, encouraging specific travel behaviors.
Customer goodwill and issue resolution: Discretionary points were offered as an alternative to cash refunds, preserving revenue while maintaining customer satisfaction.
Partnership network expansion: LoyaltyPerx facilitated the recruitment of over 200 partners, including major attractions like the Intrepid Air & Space Museum, Broadway shows, and professional sports teams.
Digital coupon redemption: Customers could use earned points to purchase coupons redeemable at partner businesses near transit stops.
Integration and scalability: The program was integrated with our client’s mobile app using a nightly transaction file system, ensuring seamless and auditable operations. It also supported CRM integrations with Zoho for partner support and HubSpot for discretionary and bonus point programs.
Revenue generation: The platform enabled monetization through banner ads, and future plans include additional revenue streams via coupon issuance fees.
Conclusion
Since its launch in mid-2021, our client’s rewards program has:
Grown to 3.1 million enrolled customers.
Seen a steady increase of 15,000-20,000 new enrollments per month post-lockdown.
Supported peak transaction loads of over 30,000 per minute, demonstrating high scalability.
Facilitated a peak of 200+ coupon purchases and 100+ redemptions per hour.
Successfully onboarded 5-10 new partners per month.
LoyaltyPerx has proven to be a reliable and scalable platform for our client, effectively handling unexpected demand surges and seamlessly integrating with existing transit operations. The program has enhanced customer satisfaction, encouraged increased ridership, and provided them with a valuable revenue-generating tool. Given its success, our client plans to continue leveraging LoyaltyPerx as a core component of its customer engagement strategy.