In the Summer of 2012, as a member of NJ Transit’s Developer program, Clever Commute built an app which gave commuters track number information in advance of being announced by NJT.

The information Clever Commute shared came directly from a NJT datafeed…and was delivered to the commuters in compliance with the NJT/Clever Commute partnership agreement.  Both sides openly acknowledged that the advance-track-number information was not 100% accurate/complete. However, Clever Commuters raved about this service.

NJT expressed displeasure with the fact that we were indeed using one of the data fields that they included in the field provided to us (and to all developers). Details of NJT/Clever Commute story can be found in this Wall Street Journal story.
To make a long story short: NJT stopped sharing that particular data feed with all developers.

However, Clever  Commute used this series of events as a catalyst to build an amazing suite of premium services which meets the needs to today’s commuters. We spent two years working / building / designing. After putting in over 1,200 enhancements, we are announcing the next version of The Inside Track – a portfolio of amazing features which empowers the commuters and gives them control over the data they need.

Today’s big news: Early-notice track numbers are coming back. In many ways our new approach makes “Round 2” better than before. 

Please follow this link to see all the details.

The link:  https://www.clevercommute.com/alert

Previously, in order for commuters to share info on Clever Commute, they needed to be a registered member (of our free service…or our premium service – The Inside Track).

Now, any commuter can use any connected device to create an alert for any line we cover!

This expansion is especially helpful beca!use commuters can now enrich their alerts in two new ways:

1. Category – Pick from a list of known problems
2. Geo-location – It’s always important to know what the issue is…but now we capture where.

Clever Commute uses 1 and 2 above to improve the overall experience.
We also allow users of  The Inside Track to see and leverage this data (e.g., show/hide various categories, and see the alerts on a map).

Cool: Regardless of whether you use an iPhone, iPad, Andriod or other, you can use this neat trick to launch this new feature from your device’s desktop (just as you’d do with an app).

User guide to creating an alert:

4 fields

1. E-mail address – We use that to check if you are a Clever Commuter. It will NOT be shared with the commuters (or anyone else).
2. Select the commuters you want to reach. 99% of the time, this is your train/bus line
3. Select a category – Self-explanatory
4. Share your message – You can find a link to our best practices on that page…or right here

Finally:

• As you can imagine, messages with location info are generally more helpful than those without.
• Check the box for T&C…and you are all set!

Savvy commuters know and love our passenger-focused offerings. But we also offer solutions for transportation and media professionals.

Our existing B2B product is called Clever Commute Professional. It combines aggregated real-time data feeds with advisory services form Clever Commute package of real-time  More info can be found here.

In addition, Clever Commute also maintains a data warehouse of metrics which can be made available to support your research or story.  Among the information we can provide*

• Details of alerts before/during/after a commuter event/issue (e.g., a derailment)
• Historical commuter alerts (with transit provider name, route name, date, time…and reason/cause <=NEW)
• Track-number information for trains at major stations (e.g. which tracks are used [and which are not],  length of pre-notification announcement for track numbers)
• Train incident information for departures and on-going travel (cancellations, delays)

* depth and breadth of the data varies by variables such as transit provider and terminal

Summary: if you are a brand (ad agency, PR firm, media specialist) interested in building awareness within an engaged and affluent demographic, then please include Clever Commute in your plans.

Our offering: Clever Commute is the leader in real-time suburban transit information for riders on the country’s largest transit systems. The commuter content is enriched with a message from our sponsor partners…and delivered via e-mail, text messaging, and our mobile solutions (see more examples here). Our users have an extremely favorable view of our offering…and deeply value the content.

Audience: Peak earners, affluent, white-collar, tech-savvy. $175K HHI. (see amazing demographic details here)

Why Clever Commute is special: Traditional transit advertising does not do enough to stand out in today’s marketplace. Certainly station domination can create a somewhat immersive experience for the traveler (CBS Outdoor example, Titan example, JC Decaux example)…but we take it to the next level.
Clever Commute is the natural extension…which connects the brand to the commuter (not just to the station)

We provide a trusted, focused, intimate platform where the commuter actually embraces and seeks out the message.

Easy and Powerful…with You in control: The Clever Commute technology platform is a robust and cost-effective solution. Our proprietary digital production approach gives you options and flexibility.

Learn more: We’d love to help you build a campaign to promote your brand. Learn more here….and then contact us via our site. You can be up-and-running very quickly.

We created 3 new Clever bus communities. Please join whichever one(s) you like. If you have never used Clever Commute for the bus…then this might be a good opportunity to start.
(More info about Clever Commute here)

• Lakeland bus Route 78 (Summit)
• NJ Transit bus Route 107 (South Orange)
• Coach USA Route 77 (Morristown)

To sign up: go to clevercommute.com/signup and change “Select provider type” to “Bus Alerts”.
(there is no easy way to simply “add” these to your current subscription…so you need to re-sign up for each. Sorry)
A few other caveats:

• If you are new to Clever Commute, it may take a few days until you can _send_ messages…but you will be able to _receive_ as soon as you get your “Welcome” e-mail
  (after you confirm…and we approve you)
• When you get the mail asking you to confirm, please use the “Click this link” option. If you use the “reply to this mail to confirm”…you’ll see it does not yet work yet.
• The e-mail address that you need for each community is found in the “Welcome” mail you receive after we approve/add you.
• We are still working on the Twitter feeds for each of these new communities.
• And of course: the content comes from YOU. Please lead by example and share whatever it is you think your fellow commuters want to know.

We pulled these together quickly…so there are some rough edges. Please be patient as we put the finishing touches on.
If you have any questions or comments, please use the Contact Us feature of our web site

We have a new service which distributes information about which evening trains have bar cars on Metro North’s New Haven line.

This is DIFFERENT from the regular “Clever Commute New Haven Line”alerting service.

Yes…it’s FREE!

Sign up at clevercommute.com (go to “Find your line”…and under “Trains (Alerts)”, you’ll see “Bar Car – New Haven Line”)

NOTE: THIS IS THE BEST PART :

If you use Twitter, then you have even more options:
You can “Follow” @cc_mnr_bar_nh (or @cc_mnr_bar_nh_r for the reverse commute)
That means that you can receive the “bar car” info the same way you receive any Twitter info:
(a) via the web (at twitter.com)
(b) via a Twitter app on your cell phone
(c) AS A TEXT MESSAGE

We have more info about how Clever Commuters can use Twitter here clevercommute.com/twitter

Some great press coverage:

• Bloomberg (MP3) – Crandall Discusses Clever Commute Business 
• New Haven Register – Looking for the bar car? Service keeps train commuters in the know

It was nice of the folks at MainStreet.com to reach out to us and offer to do an article. We are very pleased with the way it came out.

Here is a link to the story

Asking via e-mail and blog is one way…but maybe you’d like to see a video?

Would you like to see YOUR brand promoted on Clever Commute?

Now, its easier than ever…at a special price that easy on your budget.

Be one of the first 10 to sign up and your company’s advertisement will be placed into our NY metro area rotation for just $100.

Your message will be displayed 5 times…so you get spaced repetition in front of a an unbelievable demographic.

Clever Commuters know how it works:

• the sponsored messages are 3 lines of text (roughly 60 characters each).
• On most handheld devices (e.g., Blackberry), the commuter must open the message to actually see the full text of the commuter alert
• When they open the message, your ad is show right alongside!
• Here is an example

Here is a link to more information about our advertising platform

Take action by sending a mail to advertising at clevercommute.com

This promotion is only good for new clients signing up by May 14, 2009. It can not be combined with any other promotions and does not replace any outstanding custom proposals.

Reach thousands of commuters who pass by your business every day! Clever Commute will give you free advertising in exchange for you sharing the good news about this service that commuters love!
How it works:
We’ll introduce your business to thousands of suburban commuters by placing your ad inside the “alerts” sent by the commuters.
You create the opportunity to stay close to the customer by letting them know of a valuable tool which helps them get to/from home each day.

• We provide you with materials (e.g., info cards, table tents, posters)
• You position these in your establishment for 1 week
• We send your message to your target audience during the suitable rush hours (AM vs PM)

Other benefits for you

• Reap the benefits of the lifetime value of new customers
• Your establishment is positioned for new business at the time when customer need it