Token Transit -- Best Practices for Running Your Marketplace & More
What is the story behind your name and/or logo?
When people boarded buses and streetcars in the 1900s, they payed with these beautiful, intricately designed metal tokens. Tokens were still in use in NYC, Philadelphia and Boston, up until about a decade ago. As kids, we would always associate them with public transit.
We founded our company, Token Transit, with the goal of giving transit riders a better, and more convenient way to pay. With our name and logo, we wanted to hark back to those transit tokens, and the obsession they represented. Some day, we hope to mint our own decorative tokens, but that’s just a dream for now.
What are three things people should know about effectively running a marketplace?
Create a scalable backend operational infrastructure that allows your suppliers to be paid in a timely / transparent manner. When they sign with us, agencies do not need to wait for a bi-weekly transfer: money from all fares purchased flow straight into the agency account. We don’t handle any agency’s money. The simple setup gives agencies have the flexibility to reconcile funds on the frequency that works best for them and minimize money holding liabilities.
Language optionality can expand your addressable market, even in the US, letting suppliers reach obscure customers. In the beginning of 2017, we came out with a Spanish-language version of Token Transit by request of the Redwood Transit System in Humboldt, CA. Now Spanish-speaking riders of all agencies, including RTC Washoe (Reno, NV) and Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica, CA) will be able to use the app in their native language.
Get in the weeds — direct feedback from both sides of equation (suppliers and customers) is crucial to ensure that you are building something that best serves all parties involved! When we launch with an agency, we spend many afternoons with bus drivers, Passenger Services, and any other agency employees that are willing to share their insight. We learn about our new riders — where they live, where they shop, why they take public transit. Leaning on this existing knowledge allows us to provide the best possible service for everyone.
What’s one thing you learned about running a marketplace that you didn’t know before?
Optionality of payment methods is a necessary part of creating a good user experience. Our buyers are transit riders of varying income levels and cultural backgrounds. Prior to using Token Transit, they have never had the opportunity to purchase passes from the comfort of their home.
Stripe allows us the flexibility that we need. We accept accept credit cards (from any major provider), debit cards, prepaid debit cards and Commuter Benefits cards (such as WageWorks).
We will soon integrate with Apple Pay and Google Pay as well. We didn’t anticipate this flexibility, but we are glad that we have it.
Do you focus on demand or supply first? How do you bootstrap one in absence of the other?
Token Transit partners closely with transit agencies, so I guess, you could say that we focus on the supply. In a sense, agencies bring their passengers to us, and allow them a better way to purchase a good that they already want.
We work closely with agencies to market to their riders. We put ads on buses and bus stops. In Reno, NV, we put ads on ticket vending machines, especially after RTC Washoe decided to shut them down to avoid repair costs. We also discuss popular routes, and reach out to local employers and universities to assist with distributing pre-tax passes to their employees and students.
