Pilot: chatbot promotes smart and sustainable travel

Since this week, visitors to the Parktheater and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven can plan their journey smarter and more sustainably with the help of a new chatbot. The new digital assistant of the Parktheater has been given the name Charlie and the digital assistant of the Muziekgebouw is called Emma. The chatbot is available via WhatsApp and offers customized travel advice, taking into account traffic and various transport options such as bus, train, car and P+R. The chatbot is an additional service for visitors and promotes an efficient and sustainable way of traveling.

Distribution of traffic with sustainable transport

“Theater and stage visitors often come by car from different corners of the country, which can lead to crowds in the city,” says Senna Heijnen, project officer target group approach at Brainport Bereikbaar. “We want to encourage visitors to travel to the city center in various sustainable ways. That is why Buko developed the chatbot on behalf of Brainport Bereikbaar. The chatbot takes into account traffic congestion, where the visitor comes from and what is realistic.”

Fast and accurate travel advice

“We have already entered all the information about the performances, such as starting times and available performances, into the system,” says Senna. “This allows the chatbot to provide accurate travel advice. The chatbot asks which performance you are going to and therefore immediately knows the time and location. Based on this, it calculates when you have to leave and gives you specific travel information.”

Pilot phase: trying out and providing feedback

Today, the pilot phase of the chatbot starts. During this month, theater visitors can try out the chatbot and provide feedback. This can be done directly via the chatbot, but also via feedback columns that are located at the theaters. "We also maintain intensive contact with the theater in the meantime so that we can make timely adjustments if necessary," says Senna. "After the pilot phase, we will assess whether improvements and adjustments are necessary."