B2C Transit Loyalty Program

Metrolink Rebuilds Rider Loyalty and Engagement with a Transit Rewards Program

When COVID-19 drastically reduced ridership numbers across Southern California’s public transit system, Metrolink faced a steep challenge: how to reconnect with riders, revitalize lapsed engagement and trust, and make public transportation a compelling choice beyond the traditional workweek commute.

PROJECT GOALS

Build customer relationships and increase ridership numbers by incentivizing and rewarding both transactional and non-transactional rider behaviors.

CLIENT

PROVIDED SOLUTIONS

BLOYL™ Enterprise Loyalty Platform, Gamification, Offers Hub

About

Metrolink is Southern California’s regional passenger rail system, connecting six counties and serving nearly 12 million annual riders before the pandemic. Metrolink was traditionally a commuter rail service supporting riders of all incomes.

in 2020, Metrolink pivoted to become a passenger railroad that customers use for all their transportation needs, from work to weekend recreation. But like many transit authorities, ridership plummeted in 2020—and so did their ability to connect meaningfully with their customer base.

Challenges Faced

Metrolink was looking for ways to reconnect and grow relationships with its customer base by providing economic, social, and environmental benefits to members for their ridership. Key obstacles included:

Heavy reliance on physical tickets (50%+ of transactions) with no way to track customer behavior
Lack of a mechanism to reward repeat riders or incentivize weekend and leisure travel
Limited data visibility across fragmented ticketing systems
Rising demand for sustainability and digital-first engagement from transit users

To recover and grow, Metrolink needed a loyalty solution tailored to the realities of modern transit and rider expectations.

Opportunity

SoCal Explorer Loyalty Program

We partnered with Metrolink to design and launch SoCal Explorer, an engagement-focused loyalty platform that provides riders with safe, reliable, sustainable, and affordable ways to travel, all while earning valuable rewards for each ride.

More than just a points system, it’s a strategic platform built to:

Drive increased ridership and retention
Capture and unify data from physical and digital ticketing
Connect with offline riders previously unreachable
Promote environmental impact and community value
Enable custom fare strategies, like fare-capping and dynamic pricing

Key Features

How It Works

Brandmovers created a loyalty program design for Metrolink that focuses on increasing ridership through beneficial incentives, valuable rewards, and customer engagement. The SoCal Explorer loyalty program features a robust branded loyalty experience that is integrated with Metrolink's business intelligence tools, email service provider, and ticketing vendors to allow for smooth and easy data transfer and collection.

Unified Customer Engagement No Matter How They Travel

We integrated the loyalty platform with Metrolink’s mobile app, CRM, and physical ticketing systems. Riders can earn points for every mile traveled, whether through digital tickets or by submitting physical tickets via photo, barcode scan, or code entry.

This enables Metrolink to connect with these previously inaccessible riders and provides opportunities to further grow rider relationships. Effectively all loyalty member ticket purchases, regardless of whether they were physical (90%+ automated validation) or digital, are rewarded.

Actionable Data + Analytics

The platform aggregates Metrolink's customer data across multiple channels and silos (paper tickets, mobile app, CRM software) and combines everything into one central location. Metrolink can now monitor rider patterns in real time, track engagement, and implement fare-capping and other pricing innovations.

Partner Rewards Network

To connect Metrolink riders with local rewards & offers, Brandmovers created SoCal Explorer Partners: a partner program where local businesses offer discounts and offers to Metrolink riders in exchange for promotion within the program. This partner program helps grow Metrolink's connections with local communities and creates more value for riders, which motivates them to increase their public transit use.

Dynamic Promotions and Campaign Tools

Metrolink wanted to increase opportunities to connect and engage with riders both when they're taking transit and when they're not. Using BLOYL™'s built-in Promotions Builder, Metrolink can launch sweepstakes, hashtag challenges, and seasonal promotions to keep riders engaged beyond their commute.

In addition, Metrolink can use the platform's Communication Hub to send triggered email communications that deliver relevant news, updates, and service information to riders and ensure Metrolink stays in contact with its different audiences.

"The Brandmovers team helped us create an industry-first loyalty program for our rail system to engage our most valuable customers. This partnership opportunity has enabled us to reward measurable behaviors that increase the value Metrolink provides to its riders."

Mary RiemerDirector, Customer Experience at Metrolink

Boost Revenue and Market Share with a High-Impact Loyalty Program

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Unlock Your Brand's Potential

Metrolink Rebuilds Rider Loyalty and Engagement with a Transit Rewards Program

About

Challenges Faced

SoCal Explorer Loyalty Program

How It Works

RESULTS

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