🔒CT uses perks, technology to spur public-transportation use

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If you build it, they will come is an often-used adage. But sometimes it takes a little — or a lot — more to convince people to try something new.

After investing more than $1 billion in two major Greater Hartford mass-transit services in recent years, state transportation officials are now aggressively pushing new perks and technology to spur ridership.

They include an expanded rider reward program, a new fare card, and launch of a new mobile app, all of which aim to simplify and make public transportation more appealing, state officials said.

“There’s a broader goal here,” said Rich Andreski, bureau chief of public transportation at the state Department of Transportation (DOT). “For the riders who don’t know about public transit, these programs are a few ways to get them out of their cars and to try the [bus and railway] services.”

The state DOT this month marked its one-year anniversary operating the long-awaited CTrail Hartford Line, which carried more than 634,000 passengers during its first 12 months, a benchmark that exceeded DOT’s early forecasts, Andreski said. The state is also now in year five of managing the controversial New Britain-to-Hartford busway known as CTfastrak, which is important to keep busy given it generates $3.9 million in annual fares and costs $22 million to operate.

Over the last seven months or so, DOT has unveiled new perks to try to convince residents and businesses that these transportation services are accessible, affordable and easy to navigate; and to reinforce benefits for existing riders.

They fit into a national trend of cities and states offering apps or reward programs to encourage mass-transit use.

DOT has created most of the new reward programs and has charged its Rocky Hill-based public transportation arm, CTrides, to promote and market them to individuals and employers. The task is challenging given that Greater Hartford remains a car-centric region.

CTrides’ staff of about 15 is working on grassroots outreach programs, marketing and advertising, and manning customer-service phone lines at all hours, all on a budget of almost $4 million.

The state will soon be able to streamline its various incentive programs through a newly designed mobile app debuting this summer.

Branded as the Go CT Card app, also the name of the state’s new fare card, transportation officials envision it becoming a one-stop shop for riders accessing their transit accounts and paying transit fares across all systems, including the Hartford Rail Line, Shore Line East rail line, CTfastrak and CTtransit buses.

Development of the app is part of an $18.6 million contract with a Massachusetts-based company for new fare technology systems, the fare card and replacement of more than 600 fareboxes in the CTtransit fleet.

“The long-term goal is an app that works on all services to wherever you want to go,” said Andreski, who has worked in transportation for two decades. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Programs at work

One of the mobile app’s roles will be to leverage the state’s Transit Rewards Program, which was expanded last November to also provide consumer discounts for Hartford Rail Line and Shore Line East riders.

The program allows DOT’s transit customers to score discounts by presenting their purchased tickets or passes at more than 70 participating dining, entertainment and shopping options in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

“It helps us keep our name out there and keeps us in people’s minds,” said Lisa Rivers, a marketing manager at DOT, who noted that its partnerships with small businesses are mutually beneficial.

Last October, the state launched the Go CT Card, which allows riders to place funds into a reusable card they can tap on the farebox when boarding CTtransit, CTtransit Express and CTfastrak buses. The card will eventually be available for use on all Hartford Rail Line trips.

But unlike fare cards in almost all other states, including the CharlieCard in Massachusetts, the $2 Go CT Card calculates and applies discounts through a capped rate to provide commuters the lowest-possible fare. The state’s so-called “fare-capping” system is one of only three in the U.S., DOT said.

Nearly 300 CVS pharmacies, 7-Eleven and Walgreens retailers now sell the cards or allow riders to reload their transit balances.

“This takes smart cards to another level,” Rivers said. “Once you sign up, you stop thinking about how to get the best fare.”

CTrides is also thinking environmentally in its push to get drivers off the road and into public transit.

It recently completed the second annual Drive Less Connecticut campaign that aims to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality by challenging employers to encourage their workers to take fewer car trips in favor of bus, rail, vanpool or carpool.

About 380 companies and 1,646 individuals participated in this year’s competition, eliminating more than 47,329 car trips and saving 35,680 gallons of gasoline, CTrides said.

Hartford insurers Aetna and Travelers Cos. are among the most supportive employers of the Drive Less Connecticut Campaign and other in-house programs that help spur public transportation, said CTrides Program Manager Russell McDermott.

At Aetna, staff are gifted allowances of $50 a month for public transportation and Travelers grants employees pre-tax subsidized bus passes through a payroll deduction, among other incentives, officials said.

Transit competition

Gaming apps and other rewards campaigns are becoming key ridership drivers for public-transit agencies nationwide, according to Darnell Grisby, a director of policy development and research for the American Public Transportation Association.

Similar to airlines providing loyalty programs, public transit outlets are also adopting more programs aimed at allowing riders to acquire certain points or free products, said Darnell.

Cities such as Sacarmento, Calif., Houston, and Richmond, Va., have been particularly innovative and successful in deploying digital technologies for commuters, he said.

“These are ways we could establish stronger bonds with our customers,” he said.