Cubic Transportation Systems, a customer ticketing service provider, had a number of new products on display at booth 1845 during APTA Expo, including the Urban Insights data analytics service and NextAgent Video Ticket Office.
Urban Insights data analytics service delivers data tools and predictive analytics to the transportation industry to improve operations, reduce costs and better service travelers.
“Urban Insights provides ticketing and scheduling data on how people travel, how and why they transfer at certain locations, and assists in planning decisions,” said Boris Karsch, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development. “The system turns the data into information agencies can use.”
NextAgent Video Ticket Office provides customers personal ticket purchasing capabilities with an actual person from a remote location, who can interact with a connected customer.
The passenger speaks with the clerk throughout the ticketing process just as they would at a regular tickeing window. The only difference being that the interaction takes place over a high-speed video link.
“(Next Agent) uses video conference technology to restore a personal touch to the customer experience. It’s designed to be used in stations, passenger change areas and shopping centers,” said Karsch. “It allows a real-life person to handle your inquiries, transactions and deal with advice on the best type of ticket. It does everything a ticket window can do, but creates more options.”
With the launch of the iPhone 6, smartphone users will now have the ability to utilize their iPhone as an NFC (near field communication) device. This technology provides users the ability to streamline the ticketing process, by using their device to transmit payment and add funds to a transit account, versus using a separate reloadable card.
On the horizon, Cubic has an “innovation corner” set up at the booth to display developing technologies, such as a gate that can automatically open with the use of Google glasses. “We’re exploring a lot of different ways to improve the customer experience,” said Karsh. “We still need to make sure that every person that travels can travel. That’s really our job, to give you options that match your everyday use.”
