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Q&A: How MiWay Leads the Way for Marketing and Communications

Feb 04, 2016
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When launching a new project, having the right tools and technology in place can make the difference between success and failure. The 2015 CUTA Corporate Leadership Award for Marketing and Communications went to MiWay, for the effective way they involved their community and thought about the customer experience when launching the first four stations on the Mississauga Transitway.

Transit technology is ultimately developed to make it easier for agencies to satisfy customers and MiWay went the extra mile by making their customers the focal point of their marketing strategy.

We spoke to Mary-Lou Johnston, Manager of Business Development at MiWay, to talk about their achievements in transit and what is yet to come.

Trapeze: What is the Mississauga Transitway?

Mary-Lou: The Mississauga Transitway is 18 kilometres of dedicated right of way lanes for our buses to travel east-west across Mississauga, saving time for our residents.

Trapeze: How did MiWay integrate customer experience into the launch of transitway?

Mary-Lou: In November of last year, we opened our first four stations and prior to our opening, we had an event for our customers. We wanted to have people experience the transitway and join us for a Discover Your Station campaign event. We had over 60 staff volunteers and over 4,000 Mississauga residents show up for the event. On that day, they experienced the transitway, got bus tours and there were prizes and contests. It was a lot of fun for residents. Since they hadn’t seen the transitway as a part of their system before, this was a great way to experience it.

Trapeze: Have you seen any improvements since the launch of Mississauga Transitway?

Mary-Lou: In the first week of operations, we had an over 14% increase in ridership on the two routes that operate on the transitway. We are really excited about that result!

Trapeze: What are the upcoming projects for the Mississauga Transitway?

Mary-Lou: We just opened the Erin Mills Station that GO Transit will use. In February, we will be opening two more stations east of Mississauga. By 2017, all of our stations will be open and customers will be able to fully experience transitway.

Trapeze: Why did MiWay apply for the CUTA Corporate Leadership Award?

Mary-Lou: MiWay decided to apply for the Corporate Leadership Award because there’s lots going on at MiWay right now. There are a lot of successes and our staff is working on some great projects. We wanted to be able to share some of the things we are doing across Canada.

Trapeze: Why is it important to participate in the CUTA Corporate Leadership Award?

Mary-Lou: We think it’s important to participate in these awards because you get a great opportunity to see some of the successes across the country and what others are doing. It’s great to see some of the best practices that others do.

MiWay is one of the 2015 CUTA Corporate Leadership Awards winners. Check out our previous blog post here to see why Metrolinx won the 2015 CUTA Corporate Leadership Awards for Environmental Initiatives.


 
Victoria Fulton is the Marketing Program Manager at Trapeze Group. She manages the Trapeze UC and other events Trapeze participates in. Her favorite part of her job is meeting customers and developing relationships with transit professionals all over the world. Victoria graduated from Queen's University with a Bachelor of Arts, Honors in Sociology, where she specialized in consumer behaviour. Victoria is also our resident fashionista with a true eye for style. And yes, she is Dave Fulton’s daughter!
 
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