An innovative rewards program aimed at ensuring safe, trusted ridership on Metrobus and Metrorail is coming to Miami, Fla., thanks to a partnership between Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) and Velocia, Inc.
Riders on all routes get rewards for answering a daily survey promoting protective face coverings and social distancing measures that DTPW has in place on all Miami-Dade rail and buses. A second rewards campaign encourages riders on the busiest Metrobus routes to travel outside peak demand hours to ensure sufficient seats for essential workers so that they are not left behind by limited capacity buses.
“Providing safe, reliable mass transit options for essential workers is a must for Miami-Dade’s public and economic health,” said Alice N. Bravo, DTPW director. “Since the onset of the pandemic, we have been using every tool in our toolkit to continue to provide essential transportation to our community. By incentivizing changes in commute times through the Velocia app rewards, we are leveraging another tool to maintain optimal mass transit service while keeping our riders safe. We are enthusiastic to partner with Velocia and utilize their mobility rewards app to benefit Miami-Dade Transit riders during this trying time.”
Rewards earned from the Miami-Dade Transit campaigns on the Velocia app can be redeemed for Lyft and Uber Eats coupons, Citi Bike rentals, Getaround cars and Poseidon Ferry tickets when the new cross-Bay water transit begins service later this month. Velocia rewards, known as VELOs, accumulate quickly for loyal customers of Miami-Dade Transit and is one way that DTPW and Velocia thank Miami-Dade’s essential workers and ensure their safe ridership on public transit.
Launched in 2019 by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez, Velocia is a free smartphone app that incentivizes public transit use and encourages users to explore new carbon- and traffic-friendly ways of moving from point A to B. Velocia focuses its rewards on people participating in the shared-mobility economy -- car-sharing, bike-sharing and e-scooter-sharing all contribute to the Velocia rewards and redemption platform.
“We know from our initial launch with DTPW that VELOs encourage positive commuting behaviors; pre-pandemic we saw a 15 percent month-over-month increase in public transit use by EASY Card holders,” says David Winterstein, CEO of Velocia. “Our new program with the county tackles the pandemic challenges of transit demand management and safe ridership and takes a new approach to rewarding rider loyalty to public transit and the shared-mobility ecosystem.”
