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Understanding the economics of Clever Commute

Understanding the economics of Clever Commute

January 19, 2020 by Administrator

 

Summary: I try to be fair. I love running Clever. It's passion of mine...but I need your help covering the costs.

If you are having second thoughts about the actual dollar cost of subscribing to the Premium version of Clever Commute, please read this and consider upgrading by using the Premium feature of the free app.
More info: Overview and Feature List

The Clever Commute guy is an everyday NJT rider, who has been running this service for 14 years, using his own funds. See the table below to understand the costs to design, build and maintain a scalable app/service such as this.

Back-of-the-envelop math will show you that simply selling the app for $1.99 (or $2.99, or even more) is not a tenable model...especially when you remember that Apple/Google keep 30% of that right off the top.

Regarding banner ads: I have previously said they are a way to make nickles and dimes. Trust me: that statement is only a slight exaggeration. Therefore, a subscription model is the only way to build and maintain a scalable robust solution. I've been doing this since 2006. Yes, I am in this for the long haul 🙂

Summing it up: I am a 5-day-a-week commuter. I have a full-time job in NYC. I run Clever as a passion project.
Your financial support helps to defray the costs of running this service. I really appreciate each and every subscriber.

----

Start by recognizing that the App Stores take 30% of revenue right off the top.

But with all that being said, here are other things to think about

  • I personally spend over $400 a month on my commute. How about you?
    Four bucks or so for Premium won't "move the needle" on that monthly cost we all have ...but it will help you and reduce your stress.
    Click here to see what other commuters say.
  • We give you 30 days of Premium when you first sign up. That's a promotion.
    But we also give you another month free when you convert to Premium.
    (Note that any grace period for other apps is rarely a full month. Most do 7 days...maybe 14)
  • We give away free memberships as a matter of practice
    (our policy covers the unemployed, students, recent grads, people returning to the workforce, military, senior citizens, people who are disabled, pregnant or have any kind of mobility or material health issue)
  • We regularly donate Clever Commute subscriptions to charity
  • We take down our paywall as needed to ensure all commuters have a safe trip home
    (e.g., due to weather and other emergencies)

My point: I try to be fair. I'm OK to run Clever as a public service...so I need your help covering the costs. Please consider upgrading by using the Premium feature of the free app. Overview and Feature List.

Look at the ComplexityUnderstand the Dollar Costs
Technical integration with at least 5 transit providers

We provide solutions for iOS as well as Android

We offer paid as well as free versions

We support 5 categories of data (not just crowdsourced)

Maintaining a presence for the app in 2 app stores

Our app communicates/publishes via e-mail, push notifications, web, RSS/XML and Twitter

We also manage a presence on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok

It starts with the cost to build and maintain all these features. But it also includes the cost of vendors/providers I pay for ...

  • Sending e-mails
  • Sending push notifications
  • Web/App Hosting
  • Backups
  • Data storage
  • Geolocation/Mapping license
  • Security tools
  • App Store-related APIs
  • Automation/Scheduling
  • Uptime monitoring

 

Filed Under: announcements, premium Tagged With: premium

Bus commute may get bad. We took down the Clever paywall.

Bus commute may get bad. We took down the Clever paywall.

August 18, 2018 by Administrator

The Route 495 bridge replacement project has started. It runs until Summer 2021.

Two important headlines:

(1) There are links below to help you learn about it
(FYI: Transit reporter Larry Higgs has a good presence at NJ.com, Facebook, Twitter…and more. He’s been following all of this closely.)

(2) Clever Commute has taken down its Premium paywall

Now through Labor day September 9 so that all NJ users (train or bus) get free access to all information and features

More on (1) – Understanding what is Happening

  • Lincoln Tunnel commuters, beware
    Includes a list of options for commuters (spoiler alert: nothing is perfect)
  • Major closure near Lincoln Tunnel on Rt. 495 – What you need to know
    This is a good article with Q&A style including Will the bus lane be affected? (the answer is “No”)

More on (2) – All NJ Commuters get Free Premium services through Labor Day

The “Free” app and the “Premium” app are the same product…but you must be running the latest version in order to take advantage of the unlocked Premium features (how to tell).
If you are already on 3.2.3 (the latest), then logout/login to experience all features.

  • The list of features – https://clevercommute.com/premiumfeatures
  • More info about Premium – https://clevercommute.com/premium
  • Why this matters for bus riders – https://clevercommute.com/bus

The easy way to check that you have activated Premium: There are no banner ads in the app!
Suggestion: Go to Settings => “Comms & Config” and change the value of “History – Alerts” to see more than just 2 hours of recent history.

Please use this opportunity to share info and help each other.
Please use the “Contact” feature of our web site if you have any questions.

Thanks,

–Conductor Josh

Filed Under: bus, examples Tagged With: bus, premium

The 6 hour snooze button

The 6 hour snooze button

July 22, 2018 by Administrator

This page explains one or more of the dozens of amazing features found in Clever Commute Premium.

This page has been moved. New location.

Filed Under: Feature, premium Tagged With: featue, premium

Special offer for those who have been with us

Special offer for those who have been with us

July 2, 2018 by Administrator

Premium Clever Commuters come in all shapes and sizes. However, one conversion we love to see is when a long-time customer upgrades from the free version to Premium.

This is a special offer for those with a Clever Commute account created more than one year ago.

Drop us a line, and we’ll give you 3 months of Premium service at no cost.

No strings attached. No credit card needed.

Our thinking is now that you have been with us a while, you have the context…and can truly appreciate the value proposition.
Frankly, you can also nudge and challenge us on places where we need to improve.

Final note: In order to be sure you experience all of the latest features, we do ask that you first get the latest (Free) version of the app from your app store.

We’ll then flip the switch on our side so that you experience all of the Premium features.

Filed Under: promotion Tagged With: premium, promotions

Premium is Excellent for DeCamp riders (source: I am one)

Premium is Excellent for DeCamp riders (source: I am one)

September 12, 2017 by Administrator

If you use the free service, please note that Monday was a great example of why you should check out our Premium service. 
Yes…a subscription costs a little extra (it likely adds less than 1% to your monthly commuting cost). 
But yesterday, our Premium users benefited many ways:

  • they knew, in advance, about the buses that DeCamp canceled
    (Clever Commute uses a datafeed of DeCamp’s announcements…and we show that to Premium users)
  • they know about an alert from Port Authority about delays going into NY
  • they had full control of what info they received and how and when

Plus more! The best write-up I have for bus riders is here: clevercommute.com/bus 
But we’re adding features like crazy…so there is more than that…and more on the way. 

So please open the app and click on the main menu.
Select the “Premium” to start your 30-day free trial. 

For the amount of time we all spend commuting…and the low cost of Premium service…it’s time to at least explore a free month. 
You can cancel any time…and I’ll refund the unused part. 

How’s that? 

Filed Under: examples Tagged With: bus, decamp, premium

Premium User – you are in control

Premium User – you are in control

May 5, 2017 by Administrator

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  • Do you have your time-of-day and day of week preferences set properly?
  • You can set preferences for your notifications (in the app…or on your device)
  • If there are users who you want to block or mute, you can do that via the app
  • Do you downvote on messages which you find to NOT be helpful?
    See the results on the Leaderboard
  • And of course there is the snooze feature which you set for as long or short as you want
We’re doing our best to keep the data volumes manageable…and will be enhancing our duplicate-checker soon.
A future version of the app will allow you to limit your alerts by
  • message category
  • duration of the underlying issue

 

Filed Under: examples Tagged With: features, premium

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