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- From: "eegenebradley" <http://profiles.yahoo.com/eegenebradley>
- Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 05:52:25 -0000
Scanned document from VTA now lives at http://www.scribd.com/doc/42783281/Strategies-for-Improving-VTA-Transit-Ridership Full text of the document follows. Please discuss as needed and see if we should agree with VTA's strategy. --eugene ============ FORWARDED DOCUMENT ========== VTA BOARD MEMORANDUM TO Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Transit Planning & Operations Committee THROUGH: General Manager, Michael T. Bums FROM: Chief External Affairs Officer, Greta Helm SUBJECT: Strategies for Improving VTA Ridership FOR INFORMATION ONLY BACKGROUND Over the last two years, transit agencies across the country, including VTA, have reported ridership declines. In general, public transit ridership levels correlate closely to changes in employment levels. A report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in late September noted that there are signs of some slight improvement in recent months. In the second quarter ofFYlO, more than 2.5 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation systems, up O.1 percent compared with second-quarter FY09 ridership; this is the first ridership gain in six. quarters, according to the report. APTA's report found public transit declined in the past five quarters due to high unemployment, the recession, and lower state and local revenue for public transportation service. "History shows that as the economy grows, public transit ridership tends to increase. This rise in ridership offers a glimmer of hope that we may be coming out of the economic recession and ridership will continue to move upward," said APTA President William Millar. It is estimated that approximately 44 of all VTA trips are customers commuting to and from work. Although commuters represent a large share of our ridership, VTA is not waiting for economic recovery and job growth to reverse this decline; we are taking steps to identify new markets and attract new riders. These steps are in addition to those which were planned as part of our on-going marketing efforts to attract new riders, and reflect input that we have received from the public about service and amenities they would like to see on our system, as well as ideas that have been successful in stimulating ridership for other agencies. DISCUSSION One essential step to succeed in business is to deliver a product that the customer wants. Earlier this year, VTA surveyed non-riders to ask them for ideas about "What would it take to get you to ride VTA". This survey was posted on the VTA website, and also supplemented by in-person interviews conducted at points throughout the county. VTA staff also reviewed information collected through the Express Bus study, which utilized focus groups and written surveys to probe public perceptions and preferences for service. Based on these surveys, VTA gained valuable insight on what types of service and amenities are most desired by those who do not use public transit. Although there were no huge surprises, it did help focus our priorities for augmenting and marketing our service. As was the case in past surveys, we found that travel time was the key consideration for most individuals. The public wants travel times which are comparable to the car, and service which is frequent enough that they can catch the bus or train at a convenient time for their busy schedule. These types of demands are consistently the top expectations, but also are the most difficult to deliver, given the magnitude of resources it would require to provide service at this level throughout such a large, geographically disbursed county. Nevertheless, VTA has been looking for projects to meet this request. In fact, the newly launched "Commuter Express" light rail service is one example of a project that we have fast-tracked to launch on October 4, to meet this request for a quick, and convenient option for traveling from South where-I-live into the downtown and north where-I-live employment centers. VTA is aggressively marketing this new service to be sure that the public knows we have heard this request and are taking steps, within our current financial ability to do so, to meet this need. In addition to the BART project, VTA has plans to implement a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service; and is evaluating the feasibility of introducing additional Express Bus and Light Rail service modifications, all of which will reduce travel time and improve the efficiency of transit service in Santa Clara County. These services require significant capital investments and are part of a longer-term strategy for building ridership. Other top requests from the public include amenities to make travel time productive, such as Wi-Fi on board our vehicles, and Real Time Information (RTI) so as to minimize the time you spend waiting for a connection. VTA has been working on bringing Wi-Fi to our system, and on October 4, VTA launched a Wi-Fi pilot on the Commuter Express trains. It is hoped that if the technology performs well in this limited demonstration project, that VTA will be able to expand this service to more light rail vehicles sometime in early 2011. The RTI service should roll out to the public in mid-2011. In both cases, VTA will heavily market these frequently requested amenities to draw in new riders. VTA has also been following what other agencies are doing to try to stimulate ridership in this down economy. In addition to our on-going communications with partner agencies, with whom we have participated in joint marketing in the past, we have been particularly interested in learning from agencies which are seeing a positive ridership trend, such as the Capital Corridor. Most agencies are dealing with the same situation of declining ridership due to the high unemployment and recently enacted fare increases and service cuts. Some have considered roll backs of fare increases or some restoration of service. Like VTA, all agencies are investing more resources in trying to reach a larger base, through social media and other outreach, to try to attract more "choice" riders. Capital Corridor has very limited ability to expand service during commute hours, so instead they have introduced several promotions to build ridership by utilizing capacity available during the mid-day and mid-week service. Specifically, they have introduced a half-price ticket for seniors at mid-day, Tuesday through Thursday. They are also offering a "kids ride free on weekend" promotion to encourage families to travel to leisure destinations. School groups are also offered a steeply discounted rate for travel in off-peak hours. For many of these customers the train ride experience is the product they are purchasing, as opposed to just providing a means of transportation from one point to another. It is harder to sell such a "travel experience" on a bus or light rail, which is a much shorter trip and may not be along a particularly scenic route. Capital Corridor has invested approximately $400,000 of its $1 million marketing budget on media buys to advertise its service, the rest is used for supporting partnerships, collateral, and other communications pieces. The reduced fare introduces customers to the service, and the biggest challenge is to turn this experience into a repeat customer. In addition to delivering a product that the customer wants, to be successful you have to take steps to ensure that customer knows about your product or service. VTA is also reaching out to the business community for their insights about how to effectively market our service in this tough economic climate. We are asking the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce for their support in convening discussion groups to look at what private industry is doing differently to market themselves during this economic crisis, and what we might be able to adapt to our own marketing approach. VTA has also expanded the way that we advertise, to reach a broader market base. We are making greater use of on-line advertising, which we use to target computer accounts in different geographic areas as well as other demographic data. VTA launched a social media marketing effort which utilizes Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to expand our reach to the tech savvy Silicon Valley audience. In addition to changing the way that we reach our customers, we are also changing the message and way we talk about our product. Specifically, VTA has been using social media and other marketing efforts to change the public image of the typical rider, so that more people identify with the service and see how it aligns with their values and priorities. We are appealing to customers based on their values, of efficient use of time, good value, healthy lifestyle, and contribution to goals of environmental sustainability. By changing what we have to offer the public, as well as how we communicate about that service, we hope to attract more of the choice riders, whether they are commuting to work, are visiting the county, or are traveling to leisure destinations. Prepared By: Greta Helm Memo No. 2819 ========== END FORWARDED DOCUMENT ==========
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