Assessing NJ Transit’s Mobile App for Users’ Receptiveness to Geotargeting: Final Report

Details

• Creators:
  Brakewood, Candace ; Paaswell, Robert E.
• Corporate Creators:
  City University of New York. University Transportation Research Center
• Corporate Contributors:
  New Jersey Department of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Attitudes Automatic Train Location New Jersey Transit Automatic Vehicle Location Consumer Preferences Data And Information Technology Focus Groups Geotargeting Location Based Services Mobile Applications Passengers Passenger Transportation Public Transit Public Transportation Smartphones Surveys Transit Operating Agencies

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA NJ-2017-010
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States;New Jersey;New York Metropolitan Area;New York (New York)
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  City College of New York. University Transportation Research Center
• Abstract:
  NJ TRANSIT customers can use a smartphone application (“app”) to purchase tickets and access transit information. Most smartphones are equipped with technology that can determine the user’s location; however, this feature is currently used in a limited capacity in NJ TRANSIT’s app. By knowing a customer’s location, NJ TRANSIT could potentially provide customized information directly to passengers based on their location, which is referred to as geotargeting. The objective of this research project is to assess NJ TRANSIT passengers’ receptiveness to geotargeting in NJ TRANSIT’s mobile app. A three-part method was used. First, an industry scan of transit smartphone apps was conducted by downloading publicly available apps from four peer transit agencies. The results reveal that most of the peer transit agency apps are location aware; however, this functionality appears to be used in a limited number of features within the app, such as detecting a user’s location when they request nearby real-time vehicle arrival information. In the second part of the research, focus groups of NJ TRANSIT passengers were conducted, and the results of this qualitative research were used to guide the third part of the project, in which an online survey of NJ TRANSIT customers was conducted. The results of the survey reveal that most customers understand that their smartphone can detect their location, and most respondents find it acceptable for NJ TRANSIT’s app to detect their location. After providing specific examples of potential geotargeted features in NJ TRANSIT’s app to survey respondents, the most desired feature was targeted transit service alerts. Examples of targeted coupons and advertising were also presented to survey respondents; however, these received mixed feedback from participants. In summary, the results suggest that NJ TRANSIT passengers find it acceptable for NJ TRANSIT’s app to know their location, and they are particularly receptive to receiving targeted transit information relevant to their NJ TRANSIT trip.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  49198-43-27
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e2e784c36709e0de3ec7b62f2b6b17b01ddff49e94671b45fa8c39e6a84059e22abf5f57693f7b8c861d6331e1c825f18954b248858940656139e1084a45524a
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/37513/dot_37513_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.37 MB ]