Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) has awarded a lucrative contract to Purple, the intelligent spaces company, and DelfyNet, a leading managed service provider, to deliver WiFi and analytics across its entire fleet of tourist buses.
TMB, the main public transport operator in Barcelona, was keen to monetize their WiFi offering on the Barcelona Bus Turístic, the sightseeing service that carries more than 2 million passengers per year. Purple’s solution is now live and allows the company to legally capture data about every individual that accesses the onboard WiFi. This includes their email address, age, gender, interests, frequency of trips, duration of visit and location. Over 1,000 users accessed the WiFi on the first day and data collected will be used to develop insightful, targeted campaigns and offers for visitors.
DelfyNet deployed Purple onto 80 MicroTik access points already installed on the buses. Now that the solution is live the firm is set to generate revenue through marketing and advertisements. All WiFi users are redirected to a fully branded login page featuring adverts, links and videos to encourage spend and brand engagement. TMB is also set to distribute email campaigns to inform visitors about trip discounts, alternative tours and other modes of TMB transport across the city.
TMB is using Purple’s location services, enabling the business to acquire live mapping of bus locations across the entire estate. This will help uncover challenges such as route delays and breakdowns whilst allowing the team to gain a better understanding of the customer journey, including the onboarding process and most popular departure times for tourists.
The team is also evaluating Purple’s micro surveys feature, which would let them automatically distribute surveys to those who have recently used the TMB tourist buses within a specified time frame. This process will ensure customers feel valued and will also let TMB acquire valuable user feedback.
Hector Albesa, Innovation Consultant for TMB, said: “Purple offers a complete solution with all the functionality we need. It allows TMB to place customers at the heart of our business by truly understanding their behaviours and preferences. Capturing user analytics will help us to monitor how our campaigns are being received and more accurately segment our audience. Furthermore, we can personalise all marketing activities to appeal to each customer’s interests and easily generate tailored splash pages with relevant ads that grab attention.”
Commenting on the contract win, Gavin Wheeldon, CEO of Purple, said: “TMB is one of the most well respected public transport operators in Europe, so it is a pleasure to be working with the team and DelfyNet to install WiFi across its entire tour bus estate. The team at TMB clearly understand the value of Purple in terms of generating ROI and have some interesting ideas in the pipeline, it’s going to be an exciting journey moving forward.”