Anaheim Launches First Public-Private Transportation Partnership
Anaheim Resort Transportation and tech company Routematch partner to launch a mobile and entertainment app that will streamline transportation for tourists.
“The world is moving from mobile applications, and we thought that as a transit agency and a tourism destination, we needed to be moving from a technology perspective in the mobile space as well,” Diana Kotler, executive director of Anaheim Resort Transportation, tells GlobeSt.com. “The idea was to marry the transportation function with the tourism commissionable structure to develop a public-private partnership. The commissions that are generated on the backend through sales are transit passes and attraction tickets for sports are split 50-50 between the app developer and us.”
This is the first app of its kind, but Kotler hopes that it will be the catalyst for other cities to leverage technology to enhance tourism and transportation needs. “We are hoping that this will be a catalyst,” she says. “We just went to the American Public Transit Association conference to continue to push and talk about this model and to open up the opportunity to other transit agencies. I don’t see this taking root in the smaller rural communities, but I certainly see the potential for larger agencies to develop something of this nature in their destination.”
The app officially made its debut this month in conjunction with Disneyland’s opening of Star Wars Land. However, the app has been running since January to work through any issues. “We launched the initial app in January. We wanted to make sure the back-end was tested before the big day, so there were no issues,” says Kotler. “We have been rolling it out function by function, slowly, and now the first phase of the app is up and running and officially opened last week.”
Currently, the app connects to Disneyland Resort and Enterprise, but there are already plans to expand. “Phase one was the ticketing program and integration with the Disney tickets, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and a commission to all of the hotels that sell our product,” says Kotler. “Phase two will roll out in July, and that will integrate Lyft into the app as an additional mobility option for individuals that visit Anaheim Resorts.” In the future, other features will include tourist destinations like Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Angels and Knotts Berry Farm, and transportation options for Metrolink and Amtrak.