Marketing Transit Services to Business (1998) / Chapter Skim
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Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Pages 57-80
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From page 57... ...
The sections that follow offer a synopsis of the various types of transit services now marketed to businesses, including ridesharing, employee passes, transit vouchers, and reverse commute programs. The objectives in developing this synopsis of transit-to-business marketing examples are to provide a broad look at the types of programs and marketing methodologies being offered by traditional transit agencies and other organizations promoting alternatives to the single occupant vehicle.
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From page 58... ...
PACE Vanpool Incentive Program (Chicago, IL) Coronado Transportation Management Association, (Coronado, CA)
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From page 59... ...
l =~e= Measuring Costs Budgets for marketing campaigns are largely dependent on transit agency funding levels, the quantity of service being offered, and the degree to which a completely separate sales staff is employed during the marketing campaign. In established organizations that provide many services and employ a dedicated sales staff, direct marketing costs are much higher than for a small agency in which the technical staff is also in charge of marketing and sales.
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From page 60... ...
Measuring Benefits Transit organizations tempo spend whet they eat on marketing and hope for the best results et that Ievelof~ffort. There is little empirical evidence tracking the impacts of specific marketing campaigns on ridership levels or on employer participation.
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From page 61... ...
Unfortunately, the decreased flexibility created by the need to coordinate with other riders continues to be a major drawback, limiting ridesharing's popularity 24.25,26,27 The key ingredient to making a ridesharing program work is to snatch riders together based on proximity at both ends of their daily commute. This rideshare matching has traditionally been offered as a free service by a non-prof~t agency, regional government, a transit agency, or a business association such as a Transportation Management Association (TMA)
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From page 62... ...
Amounts spent on marketing were heavily dependent on available funding; budgets also dictated whether sales duties were handled by specialized sales staff or by the technical staff. The comprehensive marketing program being undertaken by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to promote ridesharing and other services has a budget of approximately $3 million over about 5 years' with most of these funds being used to cover the costs of research, development, and initial implementation.34 This represents a top-down effort, going through all the stages necessary to create an effective marketing campaign (but not including any of the resources required to sustain a marketing effort in the long-term)
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From page 63... ...
Employers also gained more tangible benefits such as greater parking availability for visitors, increased productivity, and reduced tardiness and absenteeism. general Transit Services and Employee Pass Programs General transit services range from traditional rail and fixed-route bus service to paratransit and shuttle services.
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From page 64... ...
· Guide to Ride, Class Room Bus, Convention Center Booth · Internal newsletter _ 9+ · Television, radio, print, car cards, brochures, direct mail. Other promotions, marketing research Number of 0m'loy00s In marks sail allvert~s~n' Mark0t~ns and adverItlInD budget MarketIng and advertising budost/total o'0rat~ns budget 8 4 7.5 1.42 Million 1.45 Million 1.5 Million 1.45 Million 0.75% 0.87% 1.03% 1.00% Because of their size and stability, most urban transit agencies are generally able to expend greater amounts on marketing than are the smaller ridesharing agencies and TMAs.
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From page 65... ...
An IRS administrative action raised this level to $21 in 1991, and then the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments raised the benefit to $60 in January 1993 and to $65 In January 1 996. Participation in employer pass programs tends to be limited to medium and large businesses, largely because of the administrative effort required by the employer (who must distribute the passes to employees)
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From page 66... ...
Transit Voucher Programs Transit voucher programs emerged in the late 1980's as a new way to gain employer support for transit.39 Transit vouchers are generally limited-use checks that are redeemable at transit sales outlets, and are often sold to employers who then give them to their employees as a tax-free fare subsidy. Voucher programs can be managed by local transit agencies, by regional planning agencies, or even by private vendors specializing in this service.
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From page 67... ...
.. Transit voucher programs are by tare more costly to develop and market than are employer pass programs.
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From page 68... ...
A second study was completed in l 990 and assessed the impacts at one major employer, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, using the same methodology as the first study. This second study corroborated findings from the first survey; transit ridership rose by 22 percent for commute trips and 21 percent for non-commute trips, while auto and taxi use fell by 23 percent for commute trips and 21 percent for noncommute trips.
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From page 69... ...
As with ridesharing and employee pass programs, it is difficult to ascertain the exact dollar amounts spent on marketing reverse commute services. In the case of transit agencies that are running services, reverse commute marketing costs have not been separated from general marketing costs.
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From page 70... ...
4~40 Also, | a number of organizations stated that networking and word-of-mouth | were the two most successful marketing techniques they had employed.47'48 Most organizations seemed to agree that the personal contact that is possible through personal selling and networking is more effective at generating a response than direct mail or telemarketing, although the costs of face to face sales are considerably higher. Some sales staff also make personal sales visits and provide on-site services to plan and implement promotional programs for transportation services.
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From page 71... ...
This process allowed VDRPT first to identify the transit programs most important to businesses, and then to develop a campaign to make companies aware of these services. The marketing campaign strategy has focused on the use of personal selling by representatives from the TMAs and rideshare agencies in the area, with some use of direct mail to make initial contacts and to publicize programs to the general public.
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From page 72... ...
Employer · Direct mail and telemarketing Meetings, seminars, and other promotions Use of affinity groups and peer-to-peer selling Ad campaigns Mark0~leg DIr0GI01 Toward Employees · Transportation fairs · Newsletters, videos, and other promotions · Employee Transportation Coordinators (ETCs) - Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH)
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From page 73... ...
These cities have extended rider-based methods used in New York to include actions such as ads in bus schedules, handouts in transit stations, electronic signs, station posters, and seat drops. Incentives also have been used to reward driver hand-out efforts, such as those used by Denver RTD and AC Transit to market their Commuter Check programs.
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From page 74... ...
The Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation operates a set of reverse commute services known as MetroWorks, which were created and funded in partnership with suburban businesses that require more late night service to their locations. MetroWorks has been marketed using direct mail targeted at ZIP codes in the areas where service is provided.
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From page 75... ...
These riders can take advantage of the subsidy without needing to purchase a pass, resulting in an increase in transit use by occasional riders. Voucher programs in San Francisco and Boston also have observed that marketing efforts focused on higher-income and more suburban riders are the most effective.
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From page 76... ...
For example, a sales force can discuss the relatively complicated tax issues at whatever level of detail is required. Employers are always most interested in the ways that they might provide the transit benefit at no added cost, and a sales force helps explain how this is possible.
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From page 77... ...
, who are located at an employment site and act as a central clearing house for all information about transportation plans and services. The ETCs are an on-site resource to management and employees, and help market the services provided by the TMA and other alternative transportation providers.4'8'9'26'55 Transit Courses - In Phoenix, the Regional Public Transportation Authority has found success in running introductory, so-called "Transit 101" classes to introduce employee contacts to riding public transit.
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From page 78... ...
However, research into the San Francisco Commuter Check program found that high frequency transit riders were far more likely to seek information on the program and to solicit their employer's participation than were infrequent transit users. 22 While auto drivers are the ultimate target of a subsidy program, the key action that must occur is obtaining employer enrollment, because this is what leads to modal shifts.
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From page 79... ...
San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Louisville, Buffalo, and other cities have gained free or discounted television advertising for their voucher programs in exchange for crediting the television station as a sponsor. The mass marketing and product validation has considerable value to the local television stations (who have their call letters on program brochures, flyers, and posters)
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From page 80... ...
marketing strategies to better compete in the marketplace. The following chapter details the experience of six of these industries, as well as the possible lessons to be learned and applied by transit agencies to transit-to-business marketing.
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Key Terms
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