As of 2014, the number of participants is about 1 million people. Since the launch of the programme, the participants have made 3 million 800 thousand journeys; 65 thousand premium tickets have been issued. Each active participant of the loyalty programme makes 6 journeys a year on average.
The share of trains running under the control of the profitability management system is about 30%, against just 4.5% at the start of the project.
In term of pricing, the key policy during the reporting year was to make passenger service more affordable. The yearly results show that the policy was successful, with a 17% rise in passenger traffic along the destinations covered by the profitability management system. Having said that, it is worth mentioning that this incentive-based policy did not cause a drop in financials; moreover, the revenue figures grew by 4%.
In 2015, with the Federal Tariff Service of the Russian Federation setting maximum tariffs for passengers travelling in open and general carriages, the flexible pricing approach is going to be extended to the regulated segment, which will make it more market- and client-oriented.
On February 02, 2015, a pilot project was started in open carriages of direct trains running from Moscow to Cheboksary, Penza, Volgograd and Stary Oskol. The tariffs are differentiated based on seats’ locations.
The above-mentioned destinations and trains were selected in the course of a marketing study that showed a sufficient potential for attraction of additional passenger traffic in open carriages.
For example, an analysis of the competition in Cheboksary let the Company set the minimum price of a journey in an open carriage to a value that was RUB 100 less than the price of a ticket for a bus service running along the same route.
Now, the Company not only listens to passengers but can respond to their sentiment in all segments of service.
On October 01, 2014, JSC FPC fully switched to a new approach to baggage transportation, with baggage now being carried in a standard compartment without using a special baggage compartment. This approach was introduced in all of the trains formed by JSC FPC and travelling inside the country.
By the end of the year, about 65 thousand baggage items occupying a seat were carried; more than 38 thousand passengers used the service.
This optimisation of the baggage carriage facilities allowed the Company to discontinue the use of 220 baggage compartments since January 01, 2014 to February 15, 2015. The financial impact of the project was RUB 95 million in 2014.
Car transportation, another new service, is becoming more and more popular. The geographic reach of the service expanded to 8 routes. So far, the service has been available on the routes from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, Pskov, Astrakhan, Adler, and from St. Petersburg to Adler and Astrakhan.
Since the launch, more than 3 thousand cars have been carried.
Since the launch, more than 3 thousand cars have been carried.