ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.

Chicago Transit Authority?s beacons key step in building connected city

The Chicago Transit Authority will launch a pilot project that explores the benefits of beacon technology for transit authorities, consumers and brands, including the potential for coupon offers for travelers within range of a store. 

Under the CTA?s partnership with advertising agency Titan, a secure, closed network of Gimbal Bluetooth Smart beacons will be installed at Chicago rail stations to determine how beacons can aid CTA-rider communication, brand-consumer engagement, technological enhancement and other consumer benefits. The program, to start at a yet-to-be-determined date, points to the power of beacons to help cities become more connected and enhance the daily experience for residents and visitors.
 
?Beacons can help the CTA better communicate with its riders,? said Dave Etherington, chief strategy officer for New York-based Titan, a specialist in transit-based traditional and digital out-of-home advertising which manages Chicago bus and rail media assets.

?For example, they could help notify riders about train delays, construction on platforms, emergencies, etcetera, in a far more targeted way, based on their location rather than speaking to everyone on the system in the same way.

?We don?t have an exact start date for the pilot announced yesterday but will make that information available when it has been determined,? he said.  

Bluetooth-enabled
Smartphone users will need to download a mobile application that uses the Gimbal SDK beacon and turn on a Bluetooth device to use the technology. 

No personalized data will be collected through the test. The Gimbal beacons being used operate in a transmit mode somewhat similar to GPS and are transmit-only devices. CTA said it would conduct the test in a transparent, open manner to eliminate privacy concerns.

Bringing beacons to mass transit.

The mission is to determine how beacon technology can be used in transit stations to help the CTA better communicate with its riders.

The pilot project also will assess how beacons can enhance CTA mobile technologies, such as its Train Tracker tool, which lets travelers see estimated arrivals at their stop or see CTA trains on a map, and Bus Tracker, which uses GPS devices to keep travelers up to date on estimated bus-arrival times. 

Other aims include determining how brands can increase engagement with consumers based on their proximity.

?Potentially there are commercial use cases for beacon technology? Mr. Etherington said. ?For example, a shop could push a money-off coupon to a CTA rider when they are close to a store.? 

In other news regarding a municipality leveraging mobile to improve life for its citizens, San Antonio has launched a free parking locator app to helps motorists find convenient parking using their smartphone?s location.

The app, developed with New York-based Pango, enables garage, parking lot and meter parking options to be identified along with the user's current location, including price data.

The app can be downloaded from Apple's App Store or Google's Play store.
Once in the app, users can select San Antonio as the city, where they will see a map showing open parking by street. 

A colored rating feature helps users identify parking by color and capacity: green indicates high availability, yellow medium availability and red low availability.

Beacons in benches
And the City of Los Angeles last week launched a pilot program using beacons in bus benches, potentially providing municipalities, museums and other parties the opportunity to spread information and content to individuals based on their proximity. 

The program will see a network of Gimbal Bluetooth beacons affixed to Martin Outdoor bus benches, to explore how the city can provide timely and personal information to residents and visitors based on their proximate location.

Turning Windy City into Connected City

Chicago?s transit authority sees beacons as having the power to benefit both long-time residents and newcomers.

?They could help visitors who are new to Chicago by helping them navigate their way around the CTA?s system,? Mr. Etherington said. 

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York.