Southdown PSV Ltd specialise in bus operations, sales and engineering in the South East, focusing on the Counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Running public and school bus services, Southdown PSV needed to find a solution to quickly and effectively inform passengers of delays, disruptions and cancellations across all services.
With their business aim to provide a friendly, efficient and reliable service to all customers, something simple was needed so customers are informed of delays as soon as they occur. While alerts on the website are not always viewed, emails not always opened and telephone calls proving too time consuming, SMS delivered a fast and accurate solution.
By purchasing the keyword ‘BUS’ on 60777, Southdown were able to create an unlimited amount of sub keywords each representative of a particular bus service. By texting the keyword for their bus route to 60777, passengers would instantly be signed up to receive alerts and notifications of any travel disruptions. Messages received to each keyword are stored in individual inboxes, making it easy to target the right passengers with the right message via the Messenger platform.
In times of disruption, the telephones would ring constantly with people asking for updates on certain bus routes. Being able to target these people directly to their mobile phones prevents this surge of phone calls and loss of man hours.
Passengers are kept up to date about delays in real time so they can plan alternative travel. This makes planning for the end user so much easier, meaning they don’t have to find the correct telephone number to call, or search the website for the information on their particular service. Each passenger is also given the chance to opt-out if they do not wish to receive text alerts.
Drivers are informed of route changes and alerts via text message which they can read when it is safe to do so.
We couldn’t be happier with the Textlocal service. The platform is so simple to use and has reduced our drain on resources.
—Steve Wallis, Operations Manager, Southdown PSV
