Enhancing passenger experience with Salesforce: revolutionizing public transport

In today’s fast-moving world, public transport systems must adapt to meet passengers’ growing expectations for convenience, personalization, and efficiency. As urban populations rise and demand for reliable services grows, transit operators face the imperative to transform how they interact with their customers and meet their needs – and do so without delay. Many, all across the world, are enhancing passenger experience with Salesforce^® technology. 

In this article, you’ll find out how Salesforce is empowering transit providers to deliver tailored services, near real-time updates, and dynamic loyalty programs that improve customer satisfaction. With innovative Salesforce tools like Data Cloud, Loyalty Management, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud,  public transport operators and their employees can now achieve a seamless, personalized journey for every passenger.

A quick overview of how Salesforce enhances public transport passenger experience

As public transport providers strive to meet growing expectations for reliability, convenience, and personalization, Salesforce’s suite of tools offers targeted solutions to improve the passenger journey. From personalized service recommendations to timely updates, these capabilities help providers increase customer satisfaction, foster loyalty, and better address diverse passenger needs.

• Deliver personalized travel experiences tailored to individual passenger travel preferences and history.
• Encourage loyalty with segmented, flexible reward programs that incentivize frequent ridership.
• Streamline incident management with workflows, case management, and efficient collaboration.
• Run targeted marketing campaigns and timely incident communications across multiple channels 

Now, let’s look at each of these in greater detail:

Personalizing travel experiences with Data Cloud

Salesforce’s Data Cloud revolutionizes how public transport providers manage and leverage passenger data. It allows operators to unify vast amounts of passenger data, transforming it into actionable insights that can be used to personalize the entire travel experience. Data Cloud helps transport operators create a comprehensive view of each passenger’s journey history, preferences, and interactions with the service. This level of insight enables them to offer highly personalized services that go beyond simple routes and schedules, truly tailoring the experience to the individual.

How Data Cloud supports personalization

Data Cloud ensures that transit operators have a clear view of their passengers’ travel preferences, needs, and behavior patterns. By integrating data from various sources – such as mobile apps, ticketing systems, and customer feedback – operators can create highly individualized profiles for each passenger.

• Unified passenger profiles: All relevant passenger information is captured in a single, centralized profile, offering a comprehensive view of travel patterns, preferences, and service interactions.
• Targeted promotions: Operators can identify opportunities to deliver promotions based on the passenger’s travel history and usage frequency. For example, discounts for frequent riders or tailored offers for specific travel routes.
• Data-driven decision-making: Data Cloud’s sophisticated analytics enable operators to make informed decisions on fleet management, route planning, and even service enhancements based on real-time data about passenger needs and preferences.

Benefits for passenger satisfaction

By using Data Cloud to provide tailored services, public transport providers can significantly boost customer satisfaction. Passengers are more likely to remain loyal to a service that consistently meets their expectations and makes their travel experience smoother.

• Dynamic route suggestions: Based on a passenger’s travel history and current journey, operators can quickly offer route alternatives that align with their preferences, such as avoiding crowded routes or offering more scenic paths.
• Predictive notifications: Personalized alerts can be sent to passengers about delays, early arrivals, or changes in service, ensuring they’re always well-informed.
• Enhanced engagement: Data Cloud’s deep insights allow operators to engage passengers with targeted marketing, offering them promotions or services based on their preferences, making them feel valued.

An example of this in action could be a frequent commuter who typically travels to work via a specific route. If Data Cloud identifies that this passenger’s usual route is disrupted due to construction, it could suggest the optimal alternate route. This level of personalized attention not only improves their daily commute but also helps build a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the provider.

Driving engagement with dynamic loyalty programs in Loyalty Management

Loyalty programs have long been a staple in consumer-facing industries, but Salesforce’s Loyalty Management takes the concept to the next level, especially for public transport providers. With Salesforce’s loyalty tools, operators can create dynamic, segmented reward programs that cater to the diverse needs of passengers. These programs help build a committed passenger base and increase customer satisfaction by offering tangible incentives for continued travel.

Key features of Salesforce Loyalty Management

Salesforce Loyalty Management enables public transport providers to create flexible loyalty programs that incentivize repeat usage, encourage passengers to opt for off-peak travel, and reward customer advocacy.

• Flexible reward structures: Operators can design multiple loyalty tiers, offering different types of rewards based on a passenger’s travel frequency, loyalty, or even specific customer segments (e.g., students, seniors, or corporate commuters).
• Multifaceted reward options: Loyalty programs can include fare discounts, free rides, exclusive access to services, or partnerships with local businesses for additional perks. The flexibility of these programs helps cater to various passenger needs.
• Integrations with external partners: Providers can work with external brands or partners, offering customers benefits across a wider range of services, from discounts on food or entertainment to exclusive offers at partner locations.

Building loyalty through personalized rewards

The real power of Salesforce Loyalty Management lies in its ability to drive engagement with relevant, meaningful rewards. Public transport providers can personalize the loyalty experience, ensuring that rewards are aligned with each passenger’s travel preferences, thereby enhancing the overall experience.

• Incentives for off-peak travel: Offering loyalty rewards for passengers who travel during off-peak hours helps reduce overcrowding during rush hours and makes commuting more comfortable for everyone.
• Rewards for referrals: Encourage existing passengers to refer others by offering points or rewards for successful referrals, turning satisfied customers into advocates for your service.
• Up-to-the-minute reward tracking: Passengers can track their loyalty points or status via apps or websites, creating a sense of achievement and motivating continued engagement.

For example, a commuter who frequently travels during non-peak hours might receive bonus points that can be redeemed for free rides or other rewards. This kind of targeted loyalty program not only encourages specific behaviors, such as traveling during less busy times, but also deepens the connection passengers have with their transit provider.

Managing incidents effectively with Service Cloud

Effective incident management is critical for public transport providers to ensure smooth operations and maintain passenger trust. Salesforce’s Service Cloud provides the tools needed to streamline internal workflows, resolve disruptions efficiently, and improve communication between teams. This ensures operators can respond quickly to incidents while keeping passengers informed when necessary.

How Service Cloud optimizes incident management

Service Cloud enables operators to handle incidents proactively and effectively through centralized management and automated workflows. Key capabilities include:

• Centralized case management: Service Cloud centralizes all incident reports, making it easy to log, monitor, and resolve cases without duplication or oversight.
• Automated workflows: Preconfigured workflows ensure incidents are prioritized and routed to the appropriate teams according to factors such as severity or location.
• Collaboration tools: Facilitate cross-team communication with shared dashboards and fast updates, ensuring that all stakeholders remain aligned during incident resolution.
• Comprehensive reporting: Track incident trends and team performance to identify areas for improvement in operational efficiency.

Enhancing operations during disruptions

Service Cloud ensures that incident management is seamless and responsive, allowing public transport providers to minimize disruption and maintain service continuity.

• Proactive case tracking: The system ensures that incidents are automatically tracked from initiation to resolution, reducing response times.
• Near real-time team updates: Operators can provide live updates to internal teams, ensuring all staff are on the same page and ready to act.
• Root cause analysis: Service Cloud helps identify recurring issues or bottlenecks, enabling teams to proactively address underlying causes.

Here’s an example. When a bus breakdown disrupts a key route, Service Cloud enables the operations team to log the issue as a case, notify maintenance crews automatically, and communicate with drivers to reroute services. This internal efficiency ensures quicker resolution while laying the foundation for proactive passenger communication.

Engaging and informing passengers via multi-channel campaigns with Marketing Cloud

Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows public transport providers to run targeted marketing campaigns while delivering timely incident-related communications. By using customer data, automation, and multi-channel delivery, Marketing Cloud helps providers engage passengers with both promotional messages and crucial service updates, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

How Marketing Cloud drives passenger engagement and communication

Marketing Cloud is designed to facilitate seamless communication with passengers, both for everyday marketing purposes and urgent service updates:

• Targeted marketing campaigns: Segment passengers based on travel preferences, habits, or demographics to send personalized promotions, such as discounts on tickets or special offers.
• Automated messaging: Automatically send timely messages related to new services, service disruptions, or promotions, ensuring passengers are always in the loop.
• Cross-channel communication: Reach passengers on their preferred platforms – email, SMS, social media, or in-app notifications – ensuring that important messages don’t get missed.
• Near real-time incident updates: Use the same multi-channel approach to communicate service disruptions, delays, and other incidents to passengers as quickly as possible, keeping them informed.

Enhancing customer satisfaction with targeted messaging

With Marketing Cloud, public transport providers can engage passengers in a way that improves customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty through targeted campaigns and incident communication.

• Personalized promotions: Offer special discounts or incentives based on passenger behavior, rewarding loyalty and encouraging repeat ridership.
• Incident-related communications: Inform passengers about delays, cancellations, or service changes as soon as possible, with alternative route suggestions when necessary.
• Campaign performance tracking: Leverage analytics to measure the effectiveness of campaigns and optimize them for future communication efforts.

Want an example? A regional train service can use Marketing Cloud to notify passengers via SMS or app notifications about delays, route changes, or ticket offers. Simultaneously, they might promote a seasonal travel discount to commuters or advertise discounts on bulk passes to encourage long-term loyalty. By using Marketing Cloud’s full suite of features, transport providers can communicate proactively, ensuring passengers feel informed and valued, even when disruptions occur.

Need help transforming passenger experience with Salesforce?

That brings us to the end of the article – thank you for reading. As you can see, there is huge potential to transform passenger experience with Salesforce, using these market-leading tools that enable public transport providers to offer more personalized services, enhance customer satisfaction, and foster loyalty. By integrating solutions like Data Cloud, Loyalty Management, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud, transport operators can deliver near real-time updates, tailor loyalty rewards, and reach passengers on the channels they use most. As public transport continues to evolve, Salesforce technology continues its own evolution alongside it, enabling transport companies to create more and more seamless, customer-focused experiences, building even greater trust and loyalty among passengers.

Want to read more on this topic? Stay tuned for the next article in this series, where I’ll be discussing automating public transport operations with Salesforce, and using data integration to enable near real-time updates. Or, for an overview of the top Salesforce features for public transportation organizations, read my previous article here.

If your transportation organization would like to make the most of Salesforce technology’s possibilities in any of the ways we’ve explored here, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’ll be glad to discuss your needs, goals, and how we can help you. 

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About the Author

Anastasiya Vinogradova

Marketing Cloud Practice Director, VRP Consulting

Anastasiya has led VRP’s Marketing Cloud activities since 2017. As an experienced Marketing Cloud and Pardot architect, she has extensive expertise in data management, analytics development and automation process configuration, among other areas. Anastasiya is dedicated to constantly increasing VRP Consulting’s Marketing Cloud capabilities so we can deliver the utmost value and innovation to our clients.