CONNECTRideLA. Rewarding Impact and Driving Engagement on LA’s Metro via a Blockchain based Mobile App.
The RideLA app will incentivize use of public transportation by offering a Blockchain based game system through which riders earn credits to exchange for goods and services across LA.
Please describe the activation your organization seeks to launch.
The Geffen Academy Class of 2021 will activate a generation to use public transportation by developing a fun, functional mobile app. Our app, RideLA, will offer real time bus location updates and rider density data. The app will also be fun, because it will be game based and riders will earn points, stored in the Blockchain, that can be exchanged around the city for goods and services. The more you ride, the more you earn!
Which of the CONNECT metrics will your activation impact?
Attendance at cultural events
Travel time to work
Number of public transit riders
Will your proposal impact any other LA2050 goal categories?
LA is the best place to PLAY
LA is the healthiest place to LIVE
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
Central LA
East LA
San Gabriel Valley
San Fernando Valley
South LA
Westside
South Bay
Antelope Valley
County of Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles
LAUSD
How will your activation mobilize Angelenos?
Digital organizing or activism
Create new tools or technologies for greater civic/political engagement
Encourage businesses to change practices
Influence individual behavior
Describe in greater detail how your activation will make LA the best place to CONNECT?
Our app will make LA the best place to CONNECT because it will be fun and it will have clearly measurable impacts on four mobilization paths.
The app will influence individual behavior by incentivizing use of public transportation. Angelinos know that public transportation is better for the environment, but they aren’t rewarded for using it. Our app will give riders points in three ways: for ‘checking in’ to a bus (or train), for submitting ridership density data and for distance travelled. Those points will be stored in the Blockchain and through partnerships with local businesses riders will be able to exchange their points for goods and services (ex. meals, event tickets, etc…). This will be measured by rider check-ins and density reporting.
Our app will encourage businesses to change practices through a Blockchain exchange. Businesses that join the exchange will gain positive PR for being supporters of public transportation and for being part of LA’s innovation economy. This will be measured by the number of business that join the exchange and by the number of rider points exchanged.
Our app will also create a new tool for greater civic engagement. Public transportation projects are expensive and take a long time to complete. Incentivized, rewarded riders are more likely to support transportation projects, be patient with timelines and with possible tax increases for funding. This will be measured by suggesting pro-public transportation social media postings and user response rate.
Our app will use digital tools, specifically games and Blockchain, to engage and activate Angelinos to care more about our city’s transportation infrastructure. Our generation is media-savvy, digitally literate and politically active. We know what can be accomplished through social networks. #MarchForOurLives is a recent, important example of what we can accomplish. While public transportation is not as urgent an issue as gun control, it is one that we need to tackle now so that we can have a beautiful, healthy city to live in when we are adults in 2050. Change needs to be faster and start now! This will be measured by the number of rider check-ins and the number of pro-public transportation social media postings using RideLA specific hashtags.
The CONNECT metrics we target are: number of public transit riders, travel time to work, and attendance at cultural events. We will measure riders and travel time by app usage data. We will measure attendance at cultural events by the number of social media postings about events that include the RideLA hashtags.
How will your activation engage Angelenos to make LA the best place to CONNECT
This project aims to target the entire region of Los Angeles, with a user base and map that covers the entire Metro system. Ads on social media platforms will be used to increase awareness, as well as promotions from people and celebrities with large followings. Specifically, we want to target three groups: Angelinos who care about the environment but don’t use public transportation will join because the app makes doing the right thing fun, via games and leaderboards. Angelinos who want to join the innovation economy but don’t have tech skills and/or Silicon Beach connections will join because the app will give them Blockchain access. Teen Angelinos who want a voice in the future of our city will join because the app will connect them to other teen riders and encourage mastery of the Metro system.
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your activation.
Our app will target four CONNECT mobilization paths that have clearly measurable impacts.
The app will influence individual behavior by incentivizing use of public transportation. Our app will give riders points in two ways: for ‘checking in’ to a bus (or train) and for submitting ridership density data. Points will be shown via game leaderboards. Those points will be stored in the Blockchain and through partnerships with local businesses riders will be able to exchange their points for goods and services (ex. meals, event tickets, etc…). This will be measured by rider check-ins and density reporting.
Our app will encourage businesses to change practices through a Blockchain exchange. This will be measured by the number of business that join the exchange and by the number of rider points exchanged.
Our app will also create a new tool for greater civic engagement. Incentivized, rewarded riders are more likely to support transportation projects. This will be measured by suggesting pro-public transportation social media postings and user response rate.
Our app will use digital tools, specifically games and Blockchain, to engage and activate Angelinos to care more about our city’s transportation infrastructure. This will be measured by the number of rider check-ins and the number of pro-public transportation social media postings using RideLA specific hashtags.
Where do you hope this activation or your organization will be in five years?
In five years, we hope the RideLA app is alive and running with a team of programmers, that continues to include high school students, regularly updating it with bug fixes and improvements. We want the RideLA app to be well-liked, functional and receive good ratings in the app store, but the activation is more important than the app itself. We hope that in five years the app will have encouraged millions of Angelinos to use the Metro system. We hope that more people will recognize climate change threatens our future and that they will act to use shared transportation for the good of everyone.