Wi-Fi on public transport: the key success factor in 2019

As we previously mentioned in the infographics, the time spent on public transport is considerable. Offer a high-speed Wi-Fi is highly appreciated since it improves the trip. But beyond the satisfaction of travelers, why is this service now a competitive advantage for transport companies? How is this service essential to survive in this highly competitive market?

Wi-Fi is a competitive advantage for 4 reasons:

  • Boost the image of the company
  • Improves customer satisfaction
  • Enrich customer knowledge
  • Save money and generate additional revenue

Wi-Fi: towards service more attractiv

This first argument is contextual but not insignificant: consumers are more and more addicted to digital. Coach companies have understood this by modernizing its brand image. Until a few years ago, coaches were seen as dusty means of transport. Times have changed. More and more companies have digitized themselves and now offer on-board added-value services such as Wi-Fi. By modernizing the image of coaches, Wi-Fi has made travelers want to use this mean of transport. Thus, coaches are now popular and compete with other means of transport such as the train.

Customers 100% satisfied...

In addition, Wi-Fi improves their satisfaction of travelers. For example, 67% of travelers want to be able to envoy the multimedia content offered on the tablets of the aircraft, directly from their personal terminals. Thus, meeting this need increases customer satisfaction. This will be even greater if the multimedia contents offered are personalized according to the tastes of the traveler. The challenge is to know them upstream. Wi-Fi meets this need.

... thanks to a good knowledge of customers' needs

It is indeed possible to broadcast online surveys to travelers when they connect to the Wi-Fi. The transport company chooses the questions to ask and can collect the answers of travelers. All these answers enrich the customer’s knowledge. It is a vital necessity because it makes it possible to be in phase with users’ travel habits and their evolutions. All the major strategic choices made by the players in this sector (choice of the network plan and the services, the schedules of passage, the information displayed in the stations …) require a good knowledge of the travelers. By surveying the needs and mobility expectations of users territory by territory, it is possible to design a more efficient network and smarter transport. The traveler will go more spontaneously to a company that meets his needs rather than a competitor.

Generate revenue to become more competitive

Finally, offer Wi-Fi in stations and terminals will contribute to reduce costs. Wi-Fi makes the traveler more autonomous since he can check-in online with his smartphone. As a result, much of the agent workload is transferred to customers. In addition to reduce costs, Wi-Fi can also generate additional revenues. This is particularly the case on airplanes where Wi-Fi is often charged. This saving allows flight companies to reduce tickets prices and thus stand out from the competition. Wi-Fi is a well-used tool that allows transport companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors. We will see in more detail in a future article how the captive portal and more specifically our solution Hotspot Manager, meets the needs of transport companies.

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