Practices and Marketing to Increase Rural Transit...

Practices and Marketing to Increase Rural Transit Ridership and Investment

Tuesday, August 27, 20192:00-3:30 PM ET

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD

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requirements of the Registered Continuing Education Providers Program.

Credit earned on completion of this program will be reported to RCEP. A

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Purpose

To discuss the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP)’s Project 20-65 Task 73: Best Practices And Marketing To Increase Rural Transit Ridership And Investment

Learning ObjectivesAt the end of this webinar, you will be able to:• Describe current marketing practices for transit agencies

and state DOTs• Discuss return on investment concepts and applications• Identify how transit agencies may use new strategies and

programs to market to ridership• Discuss opportunities to use new technologies in rural

communities as they relate to transportation

https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4328

Maggie Derk and Bethany Whitaker

Best Practices and Marketing to Increase Rural Transit Ridership and InvestmentNCHRP 20-65 TASK 73

August 27, 2019

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OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROGRAM

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Rural transit agencies are challenged to attract and maintain ridership

Consistent with national trends, but also persistent problem

High need, low population density –difficult market to serve

Background

123

4


• Paradox of building ridership leads to increased costso Especially for demand

response serviceo Resources limits make it

difficult to initiate new programs/projects

Background

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OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROGRAMProject Goals

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OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROGRAMProcess

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OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROGRAMWho did we interivew?

INSIGHTS AND FINDINGS

1. Strengthening community awareness and marketing remains critical.

INSIGHTS & FINDINGSTransit Agencies Best Practices to Increase Ridership


2. Successful rural transit agencies actively manage their services.




3. “Old tricks” are still important strategies.





4. “New” ideas and technologies are creating opportunities to grow rural transit ridership.






5. Partnerships are essential.






5. Partnerships are essential.

6. Transit agencies can maximize efforts to increase ridership by doing all of these things.


1. Active engagement from State DOTs can help rural transit services be successful.

INSIGHTS & FINDINGSState DOT Best Practices to Increase Ridership

1. Active engagement from State DOTs can help rural transit services be successful.

2. State DOTs can play a leadership role in understanding and advancing ROI.

INSIGHTS & FINDINGSState DOT Best Practices to Increase Ridership

INSIGHTS & FINDINGSReturn on Investment


1. There are no true “tools” or easily replicable strategies for measuring ROI for rural transit projects.



2. Despite not having clear tools or resources, many transit agencies and State DOTs do attempt to measure ROI.




3. Articulating and measuring benefits and gains can help bring partners—and funding—to the table.




3. Articulating and measuring benefits and gains can help bring partners—and funding—to the table.

4. Transit agencies “count” qualitative measures as benefits and impacts.

STRATEGIES DESIGNED TO ATTRACT RIDERSHIP


Integration & Coordination

Institutional Partnerships

& Funding

Financial Incentives

Rural Transit Policy

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Emerging Mobility &

Technology

Awareness & Marketing

Service Design




& Funding



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Emerging Mobility &

Technology


Service Design

EMERGING MOBILITY & TECHNOLOGY

• Potential for rural transit to attract riders through: o Information sharingo New ways for connecting

consumers to transito Simplifying scheduling, payment,

and tracking

• Strategieso Flexible Trip Plannerso App-based Schedule and

Dispatch Systems25


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Bloomington Transit (Bloomington, IN)

• Paratransit scheduling system called QRyde

• Increased ridership and improved efficiency

• Cost o Start-up ≈ $100,000o Operational ≈ $20,000 per yearo Additional costs for other modules

Ridershipincreased by 3%

Passenger / revenue hour increased by 10%

Passenger / revenue mile increased by 2%


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Vermont Agency of Transportation (VT)

• Funded by FTA’s Mobility on Demand Grant

• Goal to improve “trip discovery”

• Includes fixed-route and flexible transit services

• Received between 120 and 170 searches per week (someone spending two minutes or more on the trip planner website) from March to November 2018




& Funding



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Emerging Mobility &

Technology


Service Design

AWARENESS & MARKETING

• People need to knowo What services are availableo How they worko How they can meet their needs

• Lower cost but difficult to justify

• Strategieso Brandingo Education and Outreach o Statewide Marketing

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• Rebranding included: o Name changeo New logo and color schemeo New bus stop signageo New vehicles

• Ridershipo September 2016: 4,300o October 2016 – Rebrandingo November 2016: 5,200, 20% increase

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Capital Area Rural Transportation System (San Marcos, TX)


• Challenges in rural areaso Lack of sustainable fundingo Combatting negative stigmaso Long trips and large service areas

• RTA’s Travel Training Program o Began in 2012o Contributed to $342,000 in cost savingso Increased fixed-route ridership

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Travel Training (Riverside, CA)




& Funding



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Emerging Mobility &

Technology


Service Design

SERVICE DESIGN

• Transit service is the primary product – the service type needs to be appropriate and relevant to the content for

• Strategieso Transit Service Planningo Regional Services o New Transit Services

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SERVICE DESIGN

• JAUNT’s Regional Rural Connectors provide: o Weekday commuter serviceso Inter-county serviceso Local community and county circulators

• Designed to connect rural nodes to the largest community in the region, Charlottesville, with limited stops

• Ridership between FY 2017/2018:o 10% increase system wideo 24% increase on commuter routes

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Regional Rural Connector (Central VA)

SERVICE DESIGN

• Link Express ridership increased 133% since FY 10

• Compare transit and driving costs• Commuting 250 days per year

between Bozeman and Big Sky Resort adds 25,000 miles to a car and costs $8,318 to $13,281 per year

• Compared with annual costs of $800 (with seasonal passes) or $2,500 paying cash fares

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Link Express (Big Sky, MT)




& Funding



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Emerging Mobility &

Technology


Service Design

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

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• Attract potential riders

• Benefit low-income riders

• Challenging to offer financial incentive, increase ridership, and maintain a steady revenue stream

• Strategieso Fare Freeo Local Taxes


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Columbia County Public Transportation (Columbia County, WA)

• 0.4% sales tax for public transit• CCPT received an average of $330,000 per year


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Corvallis Transit System (Corvallis, OR)

• Fare free transit proposed by Corvallis Sustainability Coalition in 2008

• Simultaneously established a Transit Operations Fee in February 2011

• Annual transit ridership increased by 28% FY 2010–11 to FY 2011–12




& Funding



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Emerging Mobility &

Technology


Service Design

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS & FUNDING

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• Potential Benefitso Additional sources of fundingo Strengthen local support for transito Attract more riders

• Strategieso Community Partnershipso Healthcare Provider Partnershipso University Provider Partnerships

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS & FUNDING

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• NCMT connects Boys and Girls club to community parks in exchange for $2,000

• Benefitso Increased ridership o Community support

“Thank you for making this happen each summer! We appreciate you!”

North Central Montana Transit (MT)

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• Membership based model o $35 = 20 one-way trips

• Cost of transportation and medical treatment < cost of not receiving medical treatment

• Between August 2014 to May 2016o 4,700 rides at $31 per rideo 72% of participants not readmitted

to the hospitalo 75% not readmitted to ER in past

6 months

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS & FUNDINGHealthTran (South Central, MO)




& Funding



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Emerging Mobility &

Technology


Service Design

INTEGRATION & COORDINATION

• Helps rural transit agencies o Extend reach of resourceso Reduce costso Increase service effectiveness

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• Strategieso Funding Partnershipso Resource Sharing


• 20+ partners, includes 6 transportation providers

• Coordination efforts o Developed joint information call centero Pooled vehicles to improve utilization

• Lessons learnedo Turfismo Regionalizing transit serviceo Staffing

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Delta Rides (MS)


• Connects Portland, Oregon with Rooster Rock State Park, Multnomah Falls, Cascade Locks, and Hood River.

• Funding includes a mixture of sourceso Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the FTAo ODOTo Hood River’s County Transportation District, Columbia Area Transit

• Average daily boardings increased by 34% from 505 in 2016 to 677 in 2018

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Columbia Gorge Express (Columbia Gorge, OR)




& Funding



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Emerging Mobility &

Technology


Service Design

RURAL TRANSIT POLICY

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• Beyond funding and technical assistance, some State DOTs help rural transit agencies: o Adapt and respond to changing circumstanceso Identify and secure dedicated funding

• Strategieso Broad and Comprehensive Missiono Performance Guidelines and Standardso State Legislation


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Wisconsin Department of Transportation

• Increase in rural public transit demand is outpacing capital funding sources

• Annual Cost Efficiency Analysis tracks funding levels and agency performance

• Management Performance Audits assess the management structure and recommend opportunities for improvement

• Both are required by state statute


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Oregon Department of Transportation

• Keep Oregon Moving (HB 2017)

• 0.1% employee payroll tax

• Revenue deposited into the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF)

• Over $100 million per year to improve public transportation in both urban and rural communities

QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION

Full report can be found here: http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDi

splay.asp?ProjectID=4328

THANK YOU!

Today’s Participants

• Bethany Whitaker, Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates, [email protected]

• Maggie Derk, Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates,[email protected]

• Jeffrey Ang-Olson, ICF, [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Panelists Presentations

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/webinars/190827.pdf

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http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/webinars/190827.pdf

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Practices and Marketing to Increase Rural Transit...

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