02-16-2016, 10:01 PM
(02-16-2016, 12:30 PM)clasher Wrote: I thought it was priced so high as to dissuade people from using it as transit. The amenities they add seem to try and make it up as a luxury service or something but I can't see someone who lives or works downtown and is getting their trip expensed using the train instead of a limo or taxi, at least with the taxi it's door-to-door and there isn't any time lost making your way to the train station. The UPX seems to be losing ridership
and the fact that the busiest weekend was when they had free fares is kind of telling. The only business advantage I can see is for a single traveller that lives right near a station and is trying to get to the airport during rush hour. I guess one could pull out a laptop and work for half an hour, but email and stuff on a mobile with data is possible from a limo or cab too. It seems they really missed the market for this service and that a serious adjustment in price should be considered. The UPX was touted as being able to break even at some point in the future but given the current numbers I don't understand how that'll happen. It's also taking up space on a crowded rail corridor so it seems kind of wasteful in that sense.
I think they have missed many huge marketing opportunities. I am not a marketing person but you have to build this type of relationship not just open a station.
My unwritten rule of marketing: Market your product to your target market ...
This was forgotten or never considered by the less than business savvy UPX management team. They are all responsible for this fiasco.
If UPX bought database information to target less frequent users than every week business flyers many might be persuaded to try a free UPX trip when it came with your ticket. Family rates and other incentives are need to cause people to travel on this train. Additionally pinpoint Aeroplan users within 3-5 kilometers of a station and send them a free one way ticket and a transit token (yes I know tokens aren't used). Aeroplan used to send me free upgrade tickets on short haul until they decided to make a profit.
Different age group marketing techniques around universities/colleges in southern Ontario before "reading break" aka going south trips are marketed in October/November and target these young people.
I get 7-10 emails a week from Shoppers Drugs all trying to raise their revenue and targeted to what I purchased and claimed Optimum points. Most frequent travelers use high end VISA or AMEX cards and freebies could be given by these companies when a miles collector books a trip for their son, daughter wife or for their own trip. Given the ridership these freebies are not lost revenue as there is no forgone revenue with the current pricing model.
As noted by many the price point each way should at start shouild have been no higher than $10 for first 18 months and then $12.50 for next year and so on.