Representative Transit Technology ROI Case Study: Ajax Hotel and Resort Shuttle

Filed Under Best Practices, Real-time Passenger Information Systems, Success Stories, Transit Management Challenges

An $80,000 Real-time Passenger Information System Delivers More Value than a New Mini-Bus

Because you can quantify the return on smart transit technology investments, you can be confident in the value of adding real-time passenger information technology. You can make a simple, but accurate comparison to the purchase of new buses just as in our case study. And, you can keep your passengers happy without breaking the bank.

A representative case in point

Business at the Ajax Hotel and Resort is booming! The resort typically attracts several thousand daily customers, and a new addition to the resort complex allows Ajax to accommodate 3,000 overnight guests. Most of these guests travel by private automobile to the resort so that the resort has had to increase parking capacity by constructing satellite parking lots.

The Transportation Management Problem

In spite of frequent shuttle service, customers are complaining:

25 passenger mini-buses on shuttle routes linking the parking lots with the main resort complex.
5 routes serve the ten bus stops throughout the resort.
5 mini-buses operate on continuous loops
Headways are 10-15 minutes.
Resort guests complain about lengthy waits for the shuttle buses.
Shuttle passengers cannot determine when the next mini-bus is arriving.
During peak periods, the vehicles fill quickly and passengers must often wait for the next vehicle.

How can the Ajax Resort create a truly happy customer experience as their patrons arrive and depart the resort?

Two Possible Solutions

1. Buy More Buses

Resort management can purchase additional mini-buses to increase frequency and decrease the headway on their service.

This is a common solution and may indeed help alleviate some of the problems.
At $75,000 to $85,000 per additional mini-bus, this is an expensive solution
Only a small portion of the total ridership will benefit.

2. Invest in 21^st Century Transit Technology

Another solution is needed which will benefit all of the Resort’s customers within a limited budget. It involves the use of an easy to implement NextBus solution that will cost no more than a single additional mini-bus.

A NextBus GPS-based, Real-Time Passenger Information System (RTPIS) will benefit every rider with no need to purchase more mini-buses.
Every passenger will receive highly accurate arrival times at each bus stop on the route.
Ruggedized electronic displays at the bus stops and LCD television screens within the resort will tell passengers how long they will wait.
The Resort can broadcast arrival times live to all of the hotel guests through their room televisions.
No more unnecessary waiting and no more customer complaints.
As mini-buses fill, waiting passengers can learn immediately when the next mini-bus will arrive through the large electronic display at their stop.
Everyone can stay comfortable inside while waiting for their ride.

Details of the NextBus RTPIS System that Benefits Every Passenger

Tracker suites installed on 5 mini-buses
Serve 5 routes
Serve 10 bus stops (each stop with a ruggedized electronic sign),
Small investment of only $80k –the same as the cost of a single additional mini-bus.
Unlike a bus that can serve only 25 people every 15 minutes, the NextBus RTPIS will serve and inform every guest.
Perceived wait time shrinks dramatically
Customer complaints will vanish, business will continue to increase.
Management can focus their attention on managing everything else within the resort.

The Bottom-line: The Resort’s investment in NextBus RTPIS technology delivers universal benefits every guest and eliminates the need to add one or more buses.

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