TripSpark’s Ridesharing team has always been committed to helping Transportation Demand Management (TDM) administrators achieve their organization’s operational goals. Now, we have an even greater ability to support our customers with the addition of a new Ridesharing team member. We are pleased to announce that we have hired Jamila Owens for the newly created role of Rideshare Solutions Consultant.

Why a Rideshare Solutions Consultant?

The role of Rideshare Solutions Consultant involves liaising with internal departments and customers to proactively help our customers achieve operational success. Hiring a Rideshare Solutions Consultant means three big benefits for our customers:

1) Improved deployment and product development

By acting as a liaison between customers and internal staff, our new Rideshare Solutions Consultant will ensure that customer needs are being adequately addressed at all stages of the customer journey. She will work with implementation staff to get the software appropriately configured, and will work with developers to ensure that system upgrades are relevant to industry needs. She will also act as a project manager, ensuring that deliverable timelines for installations and customizations stay on-track.

2) More effective daily use

RidePro, our Ridesharing Software, offers many different setting and configuration options. The Rideshare Solutions Consultant can help you get the most out of your software by learning about your operational needs and suggesting modifications, if applicable, to better support your program.

3) Opportunities to learn and share best practices

Guidance from an industry pro can help you stay on top of what is happening in the industry and encourage forward-thinking solutions. Whether it means adjusting system settings or trying an innovative new marketing tactic, the Rideshare Solutions Consultant will be there to guide, assist and encourage you to take action and improve your operations.

Why Jamila Owens?

After just a few minutes of speaking with Jamila, it’s easy to see why she was hired for this role. She has both the personality and the experience needed to bring customers and other staff members together in alignment.

A real “people person,” Jamila has enjoyed opportunities to share her knowledge and advice with large audiences. She has spoken at multiple TDM conferences on behalf of the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) and TripSpark.

“One of the reasons I’m excited to be on the TripSpark team, is that I’ll have the opportunity to collaborate and share best practices with so many TDM professionals. Strategies for effective marketing and commuter engagement are particularly strong interests of mine and I am happy to share what I know with others,” Jamila says.

Jamila is a great story-teller, but she doesn’t just tell stories, she takes action. When asked about some of her greatest achievements, she noted her work on a successful vanpool retention initiative. Jamila found that prize incentives, a story contest and offering free cake were three key components to not only retaining participants, but actually increasing participation.

“We basically had fun for an entire month with something that isn’t always fun- getting to work. Our vanpoolers really appreciated being appreciated,” Jamila explains.

To stay on top of what is happening in the TDM industry, Jamila enjoys staying in touch with her network of contacts, and is also an active member of the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT). The ACT is a leading advocate for commuter transportation and transportation demand management.

“I encourage every TDM professional to take a closer look at ACT. There is so much to be learned from connecting in meaningful ways with other TDM professionals!” Jamila suggests.

Encouraging Customer Success

Successful TDM programs are contingent on a few main factors – the software you use to support the program, how effectively you use the software, and how well you design and market the program. Our new Rideshare Solution Consultant, Jamila Owens, will be able to help our customers achieve success by touching on all these areas. We encourage all our Rideshare our customers to connect with Jamila, you’ll be glad you did!