Communicating with the Customer

A key output: the INTEGRA concept

To maximise recognition among travellers, START adopted the customer-facing identity INTEGRA that was created as part of the INTERREG IIIB PARTNER project in which Merseytravel, La Rochelle Urban Community and EIGSI participated. The main aim of INTEGRA brand is to reassure the transnational traveller as well as give added status to members of the travel alliance and to provide a journey assistant tool (www.integra-travel.eu) for travellers in the Atlantic Area and easy recognisable signage and integrated, multilingual and accessible information at key regional gateways.

Information services within transport hubs are making inter-regional transport easier

The START project developed a new more dynamic ‘customer centric’ look. The new logo was adopted in early 2010.

A common range of Integra communication products are developed which use the same template, logos and imagery.

During the summer of 2011 a range of communication products were developed specifically aimed at visitors to the Liverpool city region, among which Integra branded leaflets/timetables at key transport hubs, a Liverpool city guide, an Integra poster sites at airport and city centre locations and Integra signage at airport and Liverpool South Parkway station including stickers and vinyl’s.
An Information stand should also be available at the airport by the end of the START project.
Thanks to their working relationship with Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA), Merseytravel hoped to introduce a comprehensive signage strategy at the airport.

HITRANS (Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership) is planning to highlight INTEGRA brand in the marketing of a number of public transport services in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland where they believe best practice is being delivered. During 2011 a range of communication products have
been developed aimed at improving the ease of access to passenger transport and removing the barriers that deter visitors from using public transport services in the Highlands and these include Integra branded posters promoting onward travel options to be displayed at every railway station in the Highlands and Islands, Integra poster sites at city and town centre locations, Integra signage at key transport interchanges.

HITRANS will soon introduce Wifi communications on the Inverness to
Aberdeen coach service and they are investigating the feasibility of displaying the Integra logo in the home page that passengers will log on to.

In Strathclyde, SPT (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport) have displayed the Integra brand at Buchanan bus station in Glasgow, the bus station is a busy transport hub in the area, with approximately 12 million customers and over 550,000 bus departures per annum, including the express coach services to and from Glasgow and Glasgow Prestwick Airports.

Since summer 2011, the Integra brand has been displayed on the electronic information displays installed at Glasgow Airport as part of START. These displays show all scheduled bus departures from the airport and the Integra logo is displayed on the screen interspersed between the departure information. As Glasgow Airport has approximately 7 million customers per annum, the Integra brand has the potential to be displayed to a wide audience.

By the end of START, Brittany Region plans to display brochures and posters at the main gates of the region in order to inform travellers about their public transport options to reach the city centre or the main places of interest.

In La Rochelle, INTEGRA materials will be produced in September 2011 for providing information at the rail station and at the airport, such as posters summarising the key information on how to join the city centre by bus. TFT screens - operational from May 2011 on-board buses for the urban transport network - also display the INTEGRA logo.

From 2010, the INTEGRA logo has been used in different actions designed to encourage local people and visitors to Cantabria to use public transport services. The Government of Cantabria, following a well-known marketing strategy, decided to make the image and name of the product familiar to the customer.
The first action was to include the Integra logo on the Regional Transport Website, www.transportedecantabria.es, the main transport tool on the internet for getting around Cantabria using public transport.

During the summer of 2011 a range of communication products were developed specifi cally aimed at visitors to the Cantabria region. 10,000 INTEGRA branded leaflets providing information about the airport bus timetables, how to buy a ticket, fees and frequencies are available at key transport hubs and tourism offi ce in Santander Airport and INTEGRA signage is provided at the airport indicating bus stop.

Expanding the INTEGRA network
To raise awareness and expand INTEGRA network, START partners presented the concept to their local partners and at national and European levels.

In France, after the national seminar organised in March 2011 INTEGRA was presented to French local authorities during a workshop organised by the French Association of Transport Authorities (GART) and during the general assembly of the Atlantic Arc Conference by the EIGSI (Engineering School for Industrial Systems from La Rochelle) who presented the concept in the INTEGRA stand.

In Glasgow, INTEGRA was promoted at two events in 2010 - Association of European Transport (AET) annual conference and the ACT TravelWise Scottish Showcase.

In Spain, the concept was presented during the Atlantic Arc Transport Group meeting in San Sebastian, in November 2010.

The CIVINET networks have been of particular interest to promote INTEGRA as presentations were made at the Iberian CIVINET meeting in Coimbra, Portugal and at the CIVINET Annual Sustainable Mobility Convention in London, both organised in June 2011.

START and INTEGRA were also presented to ISEL’s academic community, allowing the direct involvement of students and researchers in the development of various test applications as well as some innovative concepts. Based on some of these a paper (with peer review) was presented at the first IEEE Forum on Integrated and Sustainable Transportation Systems (more details in http://start.guiaa.isel.pt/).

Please click here to download the Integra brochure

Change of behaviour, convincing children

Behaviours and the choices we make are determined by the process of maturity that each of us goes through on the journey to adulthood. In this way, attitudes towards mobility are profoundly infl uenced by experiences and the lessons learned as children.
Based on this assumption, attempts have been made to explore the truth behind this, which has led to the perception of children and young people as two key target groups, not only for being current clients but also, and crucially, for being the customers of tomorrow. It is hoped that the children will then drive the message home to adults.

CP – Comboios de Portugal public rail operator, responsible for rendering national and international passenger rail services in Portugal - and FMNF - National Railway Museum Foundation have developed strategies aimed at younger target audience to encourage public transport use and secure future customers.

CPKids

CP has come up with a programme aimed at youngsters of 5 to 12 years old that consists of:

• Visits to nursery and primary schools to encourage children to think about railways and to generate interest in those who are involved in trips (journey organisers, passengers and potential transport users) through branding and sales.

• The construction of a site that is an integral part of the main CP website, but which is targeted at this market segment in particular, to encourage communication and generate an affi nity with public transport and rail transport in particular.

The interface pays special attention to the younger members of the public, so the graphic layout will be quite different from the main CP website with a mascot that represents the audience’s standpoint – Kimboy. This lets children create an emotional bond with this kind of transport. The site configuration includes different recreational and educations topics and there is a wide range of materials to help teachers introduce the topic of train journeys into their classroom environments.
To implement CPKids, a multidisciplinary team including various technical areas within CP, including teachers and design and programming specialists has been created. CPkids, the most visible facet within the scope of the START project in CP’s strategy to attract young travellers, will go live in October 2011.

Promoting travel by train

The FMNF, in line with the CP’s strategy, using state-of-the-art technology, is developing a service aimed at children in the 1st and 2nd grades of Primary Education, whose main objective is to promote travel by train during their commute to school, wherever possible, thus avoiding the use of private cars. The contents of this programme will function in a virtual context and are being developed in accordance with both the educational curriculum and the children’s ages and interests.

This new service will be available in the National Railway Museum from December
2011.

These local operations will be continually updated in terms of content and image, as it is necessary to retain a modern and relevant message. The younger target audience is receptive to new trends and innovations. For this reason, it is essential to provide content that is in keeping with their tastes.

For further information on CPKids, please contact Mrs. Carla Martins cpmartins@cp.pt from CP- Comboios de Portugal.

For further information on FMNF action, please contact Mrs. Maria José Teixeira.

More information about CP Kids: September 2010 article about the CP Kids project

Contact of the Activity leader:

Stephen Leonard: Steve.leonard@merseytravel.gov.uk