Allison Harbor, Accessibility Supply Supervisor, South Western Railway, shares the advantages of transferring to a real-time system powered by Transreport’s Passenger Help expertise.
At South Western Railway, we’re dedicated to making sure that each journey is secure, comfy and inclusive. Whether or not it’s navigating a busy station or boarding a practice, our passenger help service is there to assist each stage of the journey. Requests for help proceed to develop. Within the final 12 months alone, we acquired over 260,000 requests throughout our community – a 26% enhance in comparison with the earlier 12 months. This rising demand displays the significance of constructing our companies extra responsive, constant and accessible.
To satisfy demand, we’ve remodeled the best way we ship help, transferring from paper-based and guide processes to a real-time system powered by Transreport’s Passenger Help expertise. The outcomes are clear – from faster responses, automated techniques and knowledge seize to improved communication and lowered delays, we’re offering a greater expertise for the shoppers who depend on us most.
Previous to implementing Passenger Help in March 2023, our crew relied on guide processes to coordinate accessibility help throughout the community. Pre-booked help requests have been despatched out to station groups in a every day listing which have been printed and shared throughout groups.
This paper-based system restricted visibility and suppleness and colleagues wouldn’t have entry to real-time updates, which means any last-minute modifications or ‘flip up and go’ requests weren’t captured.
As soon as a buyer had acquired help on a practice or at a station, our groups would manually monitor accomplished help by a separate system. In periods of disruption, the method grew to become tough to handle reliably and resulted in an inconsistent knowledge set.
Colleagues can now greet prospects by title and put together for particular wants earlier than arrival – making a extra private and dependable service.
For the reason that Passenger Help rollout, we’ve remodeled how we help our prospects. The app offers station and on-board groups real-time info, bettering accuracy and finally, the shopper expertise. Colleagues can now greet prospects by title and put together for particular wants earlier than arrival – making a extra private and dependable service.
Together with the introduction of assisted boarding factors at station platforms in 2021 (particular areas the place prospects that require help wait to board the practice), we’ve got helped scale back assisted journey delays by 25%. As well as, by offering personalised help to assist prospects on-board trains and lowering the time it takes to help, we’ve got considerably improved our total buyer expertise.
Passenger Help expertise has helped us help prospects extra successfully, even at unstaffed station. Utilizing the app, our groups are capable of see precisely the place the shopper is positioned on the practice, which means they will shortly find and help the shopper on arrival, lowering dwell occasions and bettering the seamless journey expertise.
Suggestions confirms the distinction. We have now acquired five-star scores from prospects and up to date optimistic ‘thriller shopper’ evaluations and prospects have informed us they really feel safer when travelling with us. Of all of the optimistic suggestions acquired between April and Might this 12 months, 20% is straight attributed to Passenger Help groups.
Passenger Help has delivered advantages throughout our community. Actual-time updates enable colleagues to behave shortly and supply personalised, high-quality help to our prospects, whereas giving prospects a way of safety and help all through their journey with us.
With detailed insights into buyer journey knowledge and help request volumes and kinds, we’re capable of current a stronger case for funding in accessibility infrastructure at key areas throughout the community.
The information captured by the app additionally helps us monitor and overview the assists we obtain in order that we will proceed to innovate and drive modifications to repeatedly enhance our service. The information additionally helps our bid for extra funding to stations throughout our community by way of the ‘Entry for All’ programme which was set as much as tackle points confronted by disabled prospects or these with mobility constraints, with funding used to enhance accessibility from the station entrance to the platform. With detailed insights into buyer journey knowledge and help request volumes and kinds, we’re capable of current a stronger case for funding in accessibility infrastructure at key areas throughout the community.
The app additionally helps us to deploy sources extra successfully by figuring out stations the place extra colleague help or infrastructure modifications and funding are wanted. It has strengthened {our relationships} with different operators, enabling smoother inter-operator journeys and end-to-end visibility of assisted journeys.
Importantly, the app has helped enhance accountability. If one thing goes improper or we obtain optimistic suggestions, we’ve got a transparent knowledge set to take motion shortly, recognise excellent service and proceed elevating the requirements throughout the trade. Passenger Help is greater than only a tech answer – it’s a step-change in how we ship accessible, inclusive and reliable journey for everybody.
Allison Harbor first joined South Western Railway in October 2019 as a Recruitment, Coaching & High quality Supervisor, within the Buyer Contact division. In January 2023, she joined South Western Railway’s Accessibility Staff as Accessibility Supply Supervisor, the place she now strives to enhance accessibility in rail journey for all.
