Brief

"Design and build a website that conveys the Southern brand and caters to the needs of both commuters and leisure customers."

Southern provides train services between London and the South East coast and in 2005 it carried over 120 million passengers.

Like many train operators in the UK, Southern's website was limited to providing a very basic level of information to its customers, primarily relating to routes and timetables. Usage was low and the website was not contributing to deepening Southern's relationship with their customers. Furthermore, its design was uninspiring and out of date. Southern was in the process of completing a significant turn-around programme, and they needed an online presence that complemented their bold new 'think like a passenger' image.

Tobias & Tobias had recently developed a strong new website for Thameslink, another train operator in the Go-Ahead stable, as well as their award-winning Travel Buddy application. We were approached by Southern with the challenge of designing and developing their new website, one that would make a strong online statement in support of the new Southern brand.

Southern has two main customer groups, commuters and leisure travellers. While serving both of these groups, they wanted the new website to focus attention on their commuters and offer them something special from a servicing point of view. They also wanted a solution that provided them with great flexibility in the ongoing development of sophisticated website content. In short, they wanted their new website to be the envy of other train operating companies.

Strategy & execution

The new website received very positive feedback from customers and stakeholders alike. The site featured a new concept called the Commuter Zone, where registered users were able to view live running information personalised based on the regular routes that they travel. Users were also able to subscribe to receive latest timetables, season ticket reminders and promotional information.

The site also includes other engaging, service-oriented features such as online customer surveys, an interactive network map, train updates, live departure boards, and detailed station information including accessibility, location maps and local services. Accessibility is of primary importance in the mass transport industry, and for this reason the Southern site was developed to a high degree of online accessibility.

A comprehensive and highly flexible Content Management System enables Southern to control the site structure and all page content, thus reducing ongoing web development costs and ensuring a quality, brand consistent experience.

Shortly after the site launched we began working with Southern to implement a new online ticket purchase solution for their customers. This went live the following year and enabled Southern to actively drive online sales as a cost-effective alternative to traditional channels.

Results

The new site was a great success, receiving positive feedback from customers and other stakeholders. We have continued to work with Southern over a number of years, expanding into areas such as their intranet and web-based business tools.