Public Participation Strategies for Transit (2011)

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22 This chapter provides a more detailed look at six transit agen- cies and their public involvement processes used for specific projects or planning activities. The agencies were selected based on the literature review, their own evaluation of their public involvement efforts (as expressed in the survey), and a willingness to be included as a case study. Although their strategies differ, each offers an example across a wide range of agency sizes, project types, and place types of successful public involvement. The agencies and projects are: • Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), Los Angeles, California— Westside Subway Extension. • Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Washington, DC—Route 79 Metro Extra bus service. • Port Authority of Allegheny County (Port Authority), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—Transit Development Plan. • Pierce Transit (PT), Pierce County, Washington—PT Tomorrow. • Laketran, Lake County, Ohio—Fare and service changes. • Sunset Empire Transportation District (SETD), Clatsop County, Oregon—Fare and service changes. Each case study starts with an overview of the agency— the region in which it provides services and the type of ser- vices provided. A brief introduction to the specific project or planning effort follows, along with a description of the out- reach strategy the agency employed and public involvement techniques it used. Each case study concludes with an exam- ination of the outcomes of its efforts and identification of the factors that led to success. LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, CALIFORNIA LACMTA operates the third largest public transit system in the United States. Its service area covers 1,433 square miles and is home to more than 9.6 million people. LACMTA’s operations include bus, bus rapid transit, light rail, and heavy rail subway. LACMTA is the major funding source for local paratransit service and partially funds 16 municipal bus oper- ators, with which it has operating agreements to avoid dupli- cation of service. LACMTA also develops and oversees plans, policies, and funding programs for a wide array of trans- portation projects including bike and pedestrian facilities, highway improvements, freight, Metrolink (commuter rail), and the Freeway Service Patrol within the greater Los Angeles metropolitan region. In 2006, APTA named LACMTA as an Outstanding Trans- portation System. LACMTA’s Outreach Strategy Public involvement is an integral part of all of LACMTA’s planning activities from long-range and corridor planning, to facility design and service changes. NEPA and the Califor- nia Environmental Quality Act provide the base legal require- ments for public involvement. From there, public involvement strategies are devised based on the needs of the project and the type of message that LACMTA hopes to relay to the public. To help facilitate public access to the agency, LACMTA created five Service Governance Councils overseeing bus service within specific geographic areas. Council members are appointed by local officials, but must include a minimum of two “transit consumers.” These councils meet monthly to recommend service changes, review budgets, and address public concerns regarding bus service. For LACMTA, this has proven to be an effective forum to receive public input and has allowed it to respond quickly to public needs to add, change, or remove bus service. The scope of outreach for a specific project is based on specific needs, what is deemed appropriate for the project, and budget constraints. LACMTA uses its vast institutional knowl- edge of the region, supplemented with community profiles, to identify key stakeholders and target communities for engage- ment. Information sharing about outreach techniques through informal discussion or through formal documentation allows project managers to understand which techniques have and have not worked and how they can be adapted to meet the spe- cific needs of different communities. The agency’s philosophy is to be as open and transparent as possible. As such, there is no formal process for determining what information to share with the public—the bigger challenges are planning when and how to present information. Westside Subway Extension Tremendous population and employment growth, coupled with changing land uses and traffic patterns over the past several CHAPTER FOUR CASE STUDIES

23 decades, have led to worsening traffic congestion throughout the west side of the Los Angeles area. In fall 2007, LACMTA began an Alternatives Analysis (AA) for the Westside Exten- sion Transit Corridor Study, extending from the current ter- minus of the Metro Purple line to Santa Monica, to identify the need for possible transit investments to improve mobil- ity in the corridor (Figure 6). The AA was completed in the winter of 2008/2009 and recommended further study of two subway alignments in an Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report. Public Involvement Techniques The Westside Subway Extension is a multi-decade, multi- billion dollar project that has been accompanied by a compre- hensive public involvement effort from LACMTA. Beginning with the AA study and continuing to the present, LACMTA’s ever-evolving outreach strategy has been built around the twin goals of (1) meeting the needs of the corridor’s residents, businesses, commuters, and visitors; and (2) fostering support among these same constituents for funding and building the subway. Some of the key outreach techniques that have proven effective for engaging both current and potential transit users are discussed here. One of the most important techniques in LACMTA’s out- reach strategy has been local community meetings. Although these have typically been held in the evening to attract local residents, this approach has not worked well for the entire corridor. The Westside is home to a substantial number of employment centers, with more people commuting into the area each weekday than residents who commute within or commute out of the area. Most commuters did not choose to remain in the area to attend evening meetings, although this represented a critical audience for the project. To address this issue, LACMTA held a lunchtime open house in Century City, one of the area’s major employment locations. This resulted in significant attendance by commuters. The same approach to adapting meeting schedules has worked well for increas- ing participation among students and workers at the Univer- sity of California at Los Angeles. LACMTA is looking to hold more of these kinds of meetings. Despite these successes, LACMTA still faces some challenges, particularly its ability to engage the region’s Korean–American community. The rea- sons for its difficulties remain unclear to the agency, but LACMTA continues to try both traditional and new approaches to engage this community. To promote public meetings, particularly when specific information was needed from the local population about station locations and design, LACMTA used direct mail postcards to encourage attendance participation. All residents within at least 0.25 mile of a proposed station received a postcard. In a series of public meetings held in the fall of 2009, these postcards helped boost attendance, drawing nearly 500 people—more than half of whom were first time participants in the project. To help these new participants learn about the project and how it developed over the previous two years, LACMTA drafted a continually evolving set of frequently asked ques- tions. The goal of the frequently asked questions was to pro- vide all the information a first-time participant would need to get caught up on the project quickly and be able to provide meaningful input. One of the most significant challenges LACMTA faced was reaching the many service workers who are employed in restaurants, hotels, retail shops, and offices in such places as Beverly Hills, Century City, and Westwood. These were peo- ple who generally lived elsewhere in Los Angeles and would FIGURE 6 Westside Subway extension build alternatives. (Source: LACMTA.)

likely not attend evening meetings. However, service workers were also unlikely to take time off during the day to attend meetings. LACMTA’s solution was to look for proxies who could represent and speak for the needs of this population. By working through large employers and Chambers of Com- merce in the area, LACMTA encouraged the participation of businesses that employ service workers. This helped the agency learn about the commuting needs of these workers and helped employers understand the benefits of a subway for their businesses and employees. Finally, LACMTA has been one of the pioneers in the use of social media, creating a broad online presence for the proj- ect including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and actively promoting the Westside project through traditional and new media including its own blog and other, topically related ones such as streetsblog.com (Figure 7). In spring 2008, LACMTA launched a Facebook group for the Westside Subway Extension and two years later launched an actual Facebook page. The group now boasts more than 2,300 “members” and the new page exceeded 1,100 “fans” in its first month, allowing the agency an interactive and flexible channel for quickly disseminating news and updates to project followers rather than having to wait for pages to be updated on the project’s website. The project’s Facebook group and page are updated almost daily to announce project events, pose dis- cussion questions, or post new articles or other information about the project. In the realm of social media, keeping content “fresh” is critical to maintaining the interest of followers. LACMTA’s Success Factors Although what is provided here is a snapshot of the overall outreach process for the Westside Subway Extension, there are several notable factors that have helped make this effort a success from the agency’s perspective. • Effective use of social media—LACMTA took a broad approach to using social media for the Westside Subway 24 Extension. Its narrated videos on YouTube and its Face- book presence have engaged thousands. What helped to make LACMTA’s use of social media successful was the well-conceived plan that guided its use. The plan included specifics about how the agency would use social media, what it hoped to achieve, protocols for dealing with inappropriate or sensitive postings, responsibilities for regularly updating the sites, and for capturing and memorializing the comments. Tangible benefits the agency has seen from the use of social media are (1) that it has attracted a younger demographic that is much more interactive in the ways they communicate with the agency, and (2) that it has provided a way to push out information to people that the agency knows are both interested and want to stay involved. • Adaptive outreach—LACMTA has adapted its outreach approach to meet the needs of its specific target commu- nities. Day meetings helped attract participation from commuters and students, whereas meetings with local employers provided critical information about the needs of workers. The result has been the active participation by more than 2,000 people at public meetings and more than 800 comments received. • Asking the right questions—For high-profile, high-impact projects, such as the Westside Subway Extension, agen- cies often both desire and need a significant amount of input. However, this input needs to be structured in such a way as to be useful and actionable for the agency. By guiding the public dialogue and framing questions to get specific types of input (such as priorities for phasing the project, locations for stations, and con- cerns about construction impacts), LACMTA was able to open up multiple channels of communication where it no longer mattered how or where the public responded. Comments on Facebook or blogs, in e-mail, or at pub- lic meetings could all be used to help refine important details. In a region synonymous with driving, LACMTA has noticed a tremendous shift in the tone of the comments. In FIGURE 7 LACMTA’s use of Facebook and Twitter. (Source: facebook.com/WestsideSubwayExtension and twitter.com/metrolosangeles.)

25 the 1980s, LACMTA faced harsh critiques and a public resis- tant to transit and skepticism about its viability and benefits in the Los Angeles region. This has given way to greater support for transit development, which the agency sees through comments that now focus on project details rather than the very existence of the subway itself. Although LACMTA does look quantitatively at the number of participants and comments it has received to gauge the success of its public outreach effort, it also looks at the nature of the comments to get a sense of the level of public support or opposition to its project as well as an understanding as to whether or not its messages were getting through as intended to the public. For the Westside Subway Extension, however, the most valuable evaluation has come from having the staff out in the community talking with people and getting an overall sense of whether or not the agency is achieving its objectives. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, DC WMATA was created by an interstate compact between the District of Columbia, the state of Maryland, and the Common- wealth of Virginia in 1967. Its mission is to plan, develop, build, finance, and operate a balanced regional transporta- tion system for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Its Metrobus (fixed-route), Metrorail (heavy rail subway), and MetroAccess (paratransit) services operate over a 1,500 square mile area and are accessible to more than 3.4 million people. WMATA is the fourth largest public transit system in the United States. WMATA currently has no dedicated source of funding. Operational funding is split between fares and other revenue (58%) and state and local subsidies (42%), whereas federal grants have provided about 65% of its capital costs. Georgia Avenue/7th Street Metro EXTRA—Route 79 In 2003, WMATA conducted a comprehensive regional bus study to look at the operational characteristics of its bus routes and determine which lines needed improvements. The study identified as a high priority Routes 70 and 71, which provide local bus service in a seven-mile corridor along Georgia Avenue and 7th Street from Silver Spring, Maryland, to the National Archives in downtown Washington. These routes were two of the most heavily traveled in the WMATA sys- tem and suffered from overcrowding, long travel times, slow average travel speeds, and limited passenger amenities. The introduction of the Metro EXTRA Route 79 limited-stop ser- vice in 2007 was intended to address many of these problems (see Figure 8). The number of stops was reduced from 54 to 15 on local routes, resulting in travel time savings of up to 15% from end-to-end and in some portions of the corridor up to a 20% time savings. WMATA’s Outreach Strategy WMATA’s planning for Route 79 began amidst numerous small local planning efforts underway along the same corridor, as well as the District of Columbia’s Great Streets Initiative (an effort to improve the streetscape on several underinvested commercial corridors). This provided both opportunities and challenges for engaging the public. As the first visible improve- ment the public would likely see as part of various improve- ments planned in the corridor, WMATA had the option of discussing the new bus service in the context of other plan- ning efforts. However, the agency wanted to avoid a sense of “meeting fatigue” on the part of the public, so it coordinated its outreach with other planning efforts and used those meet- ings to present ideas and concepts for Route 79 and receive public feedback. WMATA also worked with the Ward Plan- ners in the District of Columbia Office of Planning and DDOT, who were most knowledgeable about the local communities along the Georgia Avenue/7th Street corridor, to identify key stakeholders and the official and unofficial neighborhood groups who could help craft an appropriate outreach approach. FIGURE 8 WMATA Route 79.

The overriding goal for this public outreach effort was to learn and understand the public’s needs and desires for service improvements along the Georgia Avenue/7th Street corridor. Although the agency knew some of them, such as improving reliability and increasing travel speed, others, such as one-seat rides, dedicated bus lanes, and improved signal tim- ing emerged as key points from both technical analysis and public outreach. Public Involvement Techniques WMATA’s largest outreach effort for the Route 79 service was an on-board survey effort designed to identify travel pat- terns and the five most important changes that would improve bus service in the corridor. Project staff blanketed buses with copies of the survey and handed out copies in person at key bus stops along the route. Riders could place completed sur- veys in drop boxes on the buses or use the self-mailer printed on the back of the survey to return it to the study team. In total, WMATA received more than 1,000 completed surveys in support of the service implementation back in 2006, and more than 400 surveys in response to the recent Route 79 Service Evaluation in 2009. The bus operators themselves also became a critical compo- nent of the public outreach. A year before the Route 79 survey effort, the project team met weekly with the Bus Operations group in order to understand issues and problems from the operators’ perspective and to learn what they were hearing from their riders. The engagement allowed the drivers to act as a front line of customer service—providing information about the new service plans and reporting back on riders’ expe- riences once the changes were implemented. Other techniques WMATA employed included traditional public meetings and focus groups as part of a larger District- wide effort to improve and enhance transit service. However, these techniques did not provide the diverse community rep- resentation the agency was trying to achieve. WMATA sup- plemented these approaches with other techniques designed to broaden its outreach. These included disseminating infor- mation by WMATA officials attending neighborhood potlucks, open houses, and street festivals that helped introduce the project to the public in an informal environment. WMATA also made project staff available to give briefings to any group or organization that requested one. In the past few years, WMATA’s use of social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and neighborhood blogs has increased tremendously (see Figure 9). During the initial planning and launch of Route 79 MetroExtra, WMATA utilized the vast network of neighborhood blogs to encourage riders to attend project meet- ings. During the recent Route 79 evaluation, WMATA used Facebook, Twitter, and other transportation-related blogs to inform the public of project meetings and the proposed service improvements. 26 WMATA’s Success Factors Working through contacts with intimate knowledge of the corridor, its communities, and its bus riders; by dedicating sufficient staff and resources to outreach; by using new out- reach technologies; and by continually engaging the public over the course of the planning effort, WMATA believes that its outreach effort was a success. • Engagement with those who know the community—Since its inception more than 40 years ago, the agency has built up substantial institutional knowledge about the commu- nities it serves. However, given the size and diversity of its service area, this knowledge and understanding is often cursory. By working through local jurisdictions, such as Ward Planners at DDOT and the Office of Plan- ning, and its own drivers who interact with riders every day, WMATA was able to successfully engage the com- munities along Georgia Avenue/7th Street NW to a greater degree than through traditional, agency-planned outreach. • “Hands-on” approach—Responses to WMATA’s on- board bus rider survey provided the critical pieces of information the agency needed to start intensive plan- ning of the Route 79 service. Active engagement of riders both on and off the buses, where project staff dis- tributed surveys directly to riders and provided infor- mation about the study, helped achieve a greater than 60% response rate for the survey. • Use of new outreach technologies—As an increasing number of public agencies are turning to emerging web technologies such as social media to enhance their out- reach, many others are still struggling with questions of whether and how to use these tools. What separates WMATA’s use of social media (blogs, Facebook, and FIGURE 9 Local (non-WMATA) blog about Route 79. (Source: www.goodspeedupdate.com, March 30, 2007.)

27 Twitter) is that it tapped directly into its “social” nature. By proactively linking to other local blogs, WMATA was able to expand its reach far beyond what it would have been able to do on its own. • Continuous public engagement—WMATA’s effort with the planning for the Route 79 service exemplifies what is often stated in public involvement literature as contin- uous engagement. Before any analysis or draft concepts, WMATA sought public input, which was used for devel- oping preliminary alternatives. Working through the tech- niques outlined previously, the agency went back to the public after each of three subsequent rounds of analysis to get public validation and input on necessary refine- ments. The result was a service plan that addressed the needs of the riders and received overwhelming support. The success of WMATA’s outreach effort can be seen in the overall success of the project. A little more than a year after its introduction, additional peak service was added, and eventually all-day service was implemented. The Route 79 Metro EXTRA service has become the model for limited-stop bus service throughout WMATA’s service area. Following the apparent success of the new service, WMATA performed an evaluation in 2009. This demon- strated WMATA’s continued commitment to engage the com- munity by asking what additional improvements were still needed to make the service better for riders. LAKETRAN, OHIO Laketran is the regional transit authority for Lake County, Ohio, in the suburbs of Cleveland. The system carries just over one million passengers annually on three types of bus service—local fixed-routes, commuter express routes, and demand-response Dial-a-Ride. Laketran is best known for its Dial-a-Ride service, which is available to the public without restriction (fares are $10 each way with a discounted fare of $2.50 for seniors and those with disabilities). The agency’s primary source of revenue is a 0.25% sales tax levy, which accounts for 70% of funding. Passenger fares account for 10% of revenue and the remaining 20% comes from federal and state grants. Laketran was recognized by APTA for Outstanding Achievement by a small system in 2000 and 2005. Fare, Route, and Service Changes Over the past seven years, state financial support for Laketran has declined dramatically. The 65% drop since 2003 has meant that the agency is operating with less state support now than it did in 2000. Coupled with declining sales tax revenue because of the recent recession, the agency has been forced to raise fares and cut some services. Major changes have included: • Fare increases—2006 saw the first fare change for Lake- tran in 20 years. A second fare increase went into effect in 2009. • Route reductions—Until 2009, Laketran’s commuter express routes had experienced continual growth in ridership for several years. Based in large part on the recession’s impact on the Cleveland economy, last year was the first year of ridership declines, which forced the agency to eliminate two of its 20 trips to downtown Cleveland. • Service reductions—Laketran suspended fixed-route and Dial-a-Ride service after 7 p.m. on weekdays and all service on Saturdays. Of these changes, the suspension of service after 7 p.m. and elimination of Saturday service had the largest impact on the public. Laketran’s Outreach Strategy Laketran faced the challenging prospect of effectively engag- ing the public with only limited resources. Although most people generally understood that the economy was the biggest driver of the service cuts, there was critical information Lake- tran wanted to ensure that the public understood. First, the agency had undertaken internal cost-cutting measures includ- ing salary freezes and departmental budget reductions. The marketing and outreach department alone lost 50% of its bud- get. Second, Laketran wanted the public to understand the dif- ference between the cost of providing service and the fare box revenue the agency receives. One example was the popular Dial-A-Ride service that costs the agency on average $30 per one-way trip. Laketran’s outreach strategy also focused on two key issues where the agency wanted the public’s input—service priorities and alternative sources of revenue. The agency’s approach was to explain that the required service cuts cannot be avoided in the immediate future but that the public could help prioritize the services to be added back when the agency’s financial situation improved. The second part of this approach involved discus- sions about alternative sources of revenue for the agency. Public Involvement Techniques Laketran engaged in a range of outreach techniques to announce and solicit public input on its proposed fare and ser- vice changes. It developed a partnership with the county’s Jobs & Family Services Department, whose clients were many of same people using Laketran’s Dial-a-Ride service. Because cuts in transit service would impact the Department’s ability to serve its clients, it became a strong ally in getting information out to its clients. Laketran provided training for the Jobs & Family Services Department staff about teaching their clients how to use and support transit (see Figure 10).

Through the use of its e-mail list of more than 500 sub- scribers, flyers, Passenger Advisory Committee (PAC) mem- bers, and the media, Laketran was able to connect with the vast majority of its riders. Agency staff distributed flyers through- out the county’s five park-and-ride lots, directly reaching about 90% of commuter express route riders. The PAC membership was broadened from only paratransit users to include com- muter and fixed-route users. As regular riders, PAC members were able to take information directly onto the bus and have informal conversations with riders to obtain feedback. This information was then passed back to Laketran at regular PAC meetings. Finally, the media became a powerful tool for get- ting information to the public. A beat reporter for the local Lake County newspaper (the Lake County News-Herald) attended every board meeting and accurately reported on Laketran’s finances and proposed service cuts in articles that helped the public better understand the agency’s situation. Direct public interaction took place through a series of public hearings held at libraries and senior centers, as well as presentations at local organizations such as the Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and community events. Public hear- ings took place in informal settings and at different times of the day to provide a greater level of comfort and convenience for the public, which helped boost attendance. Laketran’s Success Factors Despite its lack of financial resources, and cuts to its market- ing and outreach department budget, two critical factors helped make Laketran’s effort a success. Neither are dependent on specific techniques, but instead point to important aspects of the agency’s internal culture. • Direct access to decision makers—During the public hearings for the fare and service changes, Laketran board members attended and sat in the front row, listening to the public explain the impacts these changes would have 28 and how necessary transit is in their lives. This served two critical purposes: (1) it helped the board under- stand the impact of its decisions, and (2) it helped the public know that their concerns and issues were being heard by the decision makers, unfiltered by agency staff or others. • Transparency—With a history of being honest and forth- right, Laketran has built and fostered a solid level of trust with the public. For 13 years the agency has received clean audits of its financial accounting, which has been a tremendous help for the agency when it needs to announce fare or service changes (Baker, June 24, 2009). The agency is seen as being a trusted steward of public funds and it has received media attention and praise for its swift action, when faced with declining rev- enues, to soften the impact on the riding public (“Laketran Avoids More Pain,” March 2, 2009). In evaluating its success, Laketran looked at the outcomes of its outreach effort. The first of these was the identification of new sources of revenue. Although the agency had been pro- viding nonemergency trips for Medicaid recipients, the agency had never applied for Health and Human Services funding to subsidize their cost. The billing process alone for claims would have cost the agency about $20,000. Through its outreach effort, the agency developed a partnership with the Jobs & Family Services Department to handle the billing. This opened up $500,000 in new revenue for the agency. Second, as the financial situation of the agency has improved, the board began reviewing at the service priorities identified by the public to see if some services could be restored. Laketran’s final measure of success is the public perception of the agency. Despite painful service cuts, it was recently rated as one of the top three com- munity services in Lake County (source: Lake Metroparks—a political subdivision of the state of Ohio that seeks to conserve and preserve the natural resources of Lake County, Ohio). PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA PAAC provides bus, light rail, incline (funicular), and para- transit services for more than 220,000 riders per day in a 775 square-mile service area in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. In addition to its transit services, PAAC also operates more than 60 park-and-ride lots in Allegheny County, 80 bridges, and 3 tunnels. Fare revenue, along with money from county, state, and federal sources, fund both operations and capital expenditures. Transit Development Plan In 2005, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell created the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commis- sion, which was charged with looking at the chronic fund- ing crisis facing Pennsylvania’s transportation system. The Commission’s final report, issued in November 2006, made a series of recommendations regarding the funding for transit FIGURE 10 Laketran booth on Senior Day at the Great Lakes Mall. (Source: Laketran.)

29 and opportunities to implement service improvements, cost- efficiencies, and revenue enhancements. Key among those recommendations was that: Operating efficiencies may be derived from technology invest- ments, route optimization, and labor, fleet, facility, inventory, and purchasing cost reductions. Of the expense oriented opportu- nities, route optimization and labor cost reductions are the most financially significant (Transportation Funding and Reform Commission 2006). Based in part on the Commission’s findings, PAAC initi- ated a series of changes designed to make it and its services more efficient, transparent, accountable, and reliable. One of these changes was a Transit Development Plan (TDP), the Port Authority’s first top-to-bottom restructuring of its routes. The TDP was the culmination of a two-and-a-half year study of the current system with significant public input. It consol- idated outdated and underused routes to offer riders better and more reliable options and offered a new route naming system to make the system simpler and easier to decipher. To reach the overall TDP goals of “Faster, Better, Smarter,” the Port Authority needed to hear directly from its customers. PAAC’s Outreach Strategy The outreach strategy was developed around the question of how the agency could reach as many people as possible. An initial goal of reaching 3,000 people was set. Decisions about what information would be provided to the public and the type of feedback the agency needed centered on what PAAC wanted the public to understand and what was needed from the public to effectively craft the TDP. PAAC established an inter-departmental team tasked with implementing all phases of the TDP. The team included staff from every PAAC divi- sion and virtually every department. The team met weekly to provide updates on specific tasks, resolve issues, and discuss upcoming tasks and deadlines. The agency also held regular communications strategy meetings about how to communicate the projects key messages to the public. The meetings focused on augmenting strategies that worked and altering those that did not, identifying events or issues that would impact the project, and keeping up to date on the public position of local elected officials. To deter- mine the specific type of input needed from the public, agency staffed worked with both the schedule planners and project consultants to identify exactly what was needed from the pub- lic to develop the plan. What emerged from those discussions was the need to have riders identify how they currently use the system, their transit needs, and how to prioritize those needs. Public Involvement Techniques PAAC used numerous techniques to engage the public during the development of the TDP. Traditional outreach methods included an advisory committee of 30 to 35 key stakeholders, stakeholder interviews, meetings with an association of local municipalities and community organizations, and public meet- ings throughout the service area. Although these techniques were useful and an important part of the overall outreach strat- egy, PAAC sought additional methods to greatly expand the reach and impact of its public engagement. A primary component of PAAC’s strategy to proactively engage local communities to provide information and get feed- back on the TDP was the “Tell us Where to Go Bus.” This ded- icated project bus gave PAAC the flexibility to travel to com- munity events such as arts festivals, fairs, and farmers’ markets. Wrapped with project branding and messaging, the bus quickly became an easily identifiable symbol of the project. The agency personnel who staffed the bus provided project information and asked for input about people’s needs from the transit system, current usage, and any problems experienced with the system. To help focus public input and better understand the public’s priorities, agency staff walked people through trade-off exer- cises (e.g., more frequent stops vs. stops further apart). The bus was on the street for 18 months, during which time staff met directly with hundreds of people in dozens of locations throughout the Pittsburgh area (see Figure 11). PAAC also had significant success engaging the public through web-based technologies. In support of Pittsburgh’s hosting of the G-20 summit in September 2009, PAAC had already identified and developed a contact list for the 50 largest employers in the region. This list became the basis for direct communication with thousands of employees. The agency’s e-mail list now contains more than 10,000 addresses. Social media also evolved into an important outreach technique. The agency’s Twitter account, with 2,500 followers, and blog on blogspot.com provided event announcements and opportunities for public feedback (see Figure 12). In addition to reaching the largest number of people possi- ble, PAAC also hoped to build support for transit and the TDP through its outreach efforts. To achieve this goal, PAAC hosted a major, invitation-only stakeholder event, where TDP advocates, detractors, and elected officials were invited to share FIGURE 11 “Tell Us Where to Go” bus. (Courtesy: Port Authority of Allegheny County.)

their thoughts. Participants were divided into small groups and asked to design a transit system within a given budget, service area, and cost per hour of service. The exercise compelled all parties to make difficult choices and develop a better under- standing of the decisions that need to be made at the agency level. PAAC’s Success Factors PAAC credits three key factors for the success of its outreach effort: • Bring the message to the community—From driving the Tell Us Where to Go Bus to dozens of public events and speaking at regularly scheduled community meetings, PAAC proactively engaged the public by taking the message and the opportunity to participate directly into the community. • Use a broad spectrum of communication—E-mail and social media afforded PAAC the chance to communicate directly and cost-effectively with thousands of residents, commuters, and other stakeholders. However, printed materials such as seat drops, notices on buses, and street flyers were also important for attracting the participation of a broad range of the public. • Keep going back to the community—PAAC kept the public engaged throughout the entire study. The agency went back to the public after each round of analysis and asked for feedback. The question for the public was simple: “Will this make the system easier to use?” Being kept in touch throughout the process allowed the public to see how its input was being used and to know their issues and concerns were being heard. 30 Although a success overall, PAAC did face significant chal- lenges with its trying to engage Pittsburgh’s minority commu- nities. Historically, the agency has been unsuccessful in its attempts to engage and foster participation among these com- munities. In response, PAAC took a vacant staff position and created a new Community Outreach Coordinator position, responsible for maintaining contact with local community organizations, disseminating information to them, and ensur- ing that those organizations are aware of PAAC activities. Since filling this position, PAAC has seen a significant increase in invitations to speak at community meetings and public feedback from these communities. The implementation of Phase 1 of the TDP occurred in early April, 2010. A new website was launched in January 2010 to explain the rollout and the changes customers could expect. Compared with past efforts at route restructuring, neg- ative comments have been limited, which the agency cites as a major success of its public involvement efforts. SUNSET EMPIRE TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT, OREGON SETD provides rural intercity bus services in Clatsop County, Oregon. SETD offers eight fixed-route services, curb-to-curb paratransit service, the Lewis and Clark Explorer Shuttle for the National Park Service in the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, and acts as a Medicaid transportation broker for a three-county area. Through these services, SETD is within reach of all 36,000 county residents and provides connections with neighboring counties and the state of Washington. Fare and Service Changes In 2009, as an outgrowth of its first Coordinated Human Ser- vices Plan, SETD conducted a six-month study of its bus routes and ridership patterns. The objective of the study was to look at major population centers and destinations, and to evaluate the productivity of SETD’s services. A mobility management approach was central to the agency’s development strategy. This approach differs from traditional transit planning in numerous ways. As explained by the United Way, mobility management: • Disaggregates service planning and markets in order to better serve individuals and the community. Traditional transit ser- vice planning aggregates demand on centralized, highly trav- eled routes of a transit system. • Focuses on service diversity and a “family of transportation services” to reach a wide range of customers versus traditional transit systems that are built on the principle of unified regional service coverage. • Underscores the importance of service advocacy as a way to improve public transportation management and delivery. A mobility manager acts as a travel agent/service coordinator to seek the most effective means for meeting an individual’s transportation needs. Transit agencies generally focus on the direct provision of services (Source: United We Ride n.d.). FIGURE 12 Port Authority Transit blog. (Source: transitpgh.blogspot.com.)

31 Changes to both the route and fare structure of the transit system emerged from this study. Evaluation of travel pat- terns showed that Clatsop Community College was a pri- mary destination for many travelers; therefore, new routes were developed to better serve the campus. SETD also found that its current fare structure was confusing and diffi- cult for its customers to understand. As a result, SETD adjusted the flat fare for all riders to $0.75, eliminated all special fares, and lowered the cost of monthly passes from $60 to $45—with an additional $15 discount for seniors and persons with disabilities. Outreach Strategy As ideas were being developed for the new service plan, SETD began to engage the public. There were two primary goals of this effort: (1) to get public input on new bus routing and fare structure, and (2) to promote the use of transit. The agency created a new Mobility Management Coordinator position, responsible for taking programs into the schools and providing promotional information to customers and potential customers. Although the agency operates with only a $25,000 marketing budget, SETD was able to engage the public and develop a new service plan that better meets the diverse needs of the community. Public Involvement Techniques To provide information about new routes and fares and gather public feedback, SETD pursued a variety of public involvement techniques. The selection of these techniques began with internal discussions about the best ways to achieve its goal of increasing ridership, along with a time- line of when actions needed to be taken to engage the pub- lic. From past experience the agency knew that techniques that involved personal contact would yield the most bene- ficial results. Its Seniors and Disabled Advisory Council was expanded to include employees and students of Clatsop Community College. Working through this group it became clear that most transit trips were to shopping centers, the community college, and the Tongue Point Job Corps center (which offers job training for at-risk youth). Reconfiguring service to facilitate these trips became a primary focus of route restructuring. SETD identified key transit locations throughout the county and ensured that each had a schedule and information about SETD. Staff members were also deployed to these areas to talk to riders and listen to their thoughts about service. Other mechanisms for public input included an on-bus survey (where SETD employees sat with riders on the bus helping them fill out the survey), community presentations at senior clubs and other community organizations, and going door-to-door to meet peo- ple in rural areas to discuss how transit could meet their travel needs. Finally, when the new service plan was launched in September 2009, agency staff rode the buses for two weeks— identified by their SETD vests—and asked riders for feed- back on the new service. From this feedback, the agency made minor adjustments to the new service and ridership expanded significantly. SETD achieved it second goal of promoting transit use through strategic partnerships, as well as by community service performed by SETD staff. Because the community college and local job corps sites were primary destinations for riders, SETD approached each about developing a strategic partnership where the agency would charge the institution a flat fee and allow students and faculty to ride for free simply by showing their ID cards. The institutions also agreed to help promote transit to their students and fac- ulty. Middle schools and high schools were offered reduced rate passes, which allowed more students to ride the buses after school. In addition to working with educational facilities, SETD also developed a partnership with the National Park Service to provide bus service to and from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park parking lots, park trails, regional tourist centers, and campgrounds. SETD has also been suc- cessful in engaging its neighboring transit systems through a “Coastal Consortium.” Together they have submitted grant funding requests for federal and state funds and are currently working on a state-funded planning effort to link their sys- tems and increase the awareness and reach of public transit services. A subtle, yet powerful way that SETD was further able to raise the visibility of transit and promote its use was through staff volunteerism within the community. All agency employ- ees volunteer four hours for community service per month. Outfitted in their agency uniforms (or sometimes as Santa Claus—see Figure 13), this allows employees to interact directly with members of the community and informally talk about transit issues. This feedback is then brought back to the agency at routine employee committee meetings. SETD’s Success Factors SETD attributes its success in engaging the public and pro- moting the use of transit to three critical factors: • Strategic partnerships—SETD was successful in work- ing with local partners to demonstrate the mutual benefit of transit for both organizations. Thousands of students now have free access to the bus system as do visitors to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, and joint funding proposals with neighboring systems will allow the agency to further extend its reach. SETD is now look- ing to expand these partnerships to include social service agencies. • Involvement in the community—SETD views itself not just as a public agency, but as an integral part of the Clatsop County community. By being visible and

involved through its staff’s volunteer work and out- reach it has built a positive reputation with the public. • Employees as an extension of outreach—SETD has empowered all of its employees to be part of the commu- nity outreach process. This has provided the agency with two distinct benefits. First, it has helped foster a strong sense of ownership in the system among its employees— SETD’s average employee tenure exceeds seven years. Second, the drivers who interact with the public on a daily basis are able to bring information about what they hear from riders directly to the agency. At the monthly meetings a standing agenda item allows drivers to share passenger issues, new service opportunities (such as a new businesses coming in to the area), and ideas for outreach. This has led to the addition of specific neigh- borhoods to bus routes, seasonal adjustments to sched- ules, and modifications of the way the agency notifies passengers about route and fare changes. The route and fare changes went into effect in September 2009 and the success of SETD’s outreach efforts can be seen in the system’s usage statistics. Weekly trips have increased more than 50% from 5,000 in 2008 to more than 8,000 in 2010. Similarly, use of monthly passes increased from 28% of users to 67%. SETD’s outreach also led to other changes as well. During the study, riders had requested route mapping and scheduling information to be available from the agency’s 32 website. Once that was provided, website hits rose from 500 to 2,000 per day. The SETD is a small transit system with limited resources to engage the public. However, through its partnerships, vis- ibility in the community, and driver contact with riders, the agency has managed to identify opportunities to expand its service in a time when many transit systems are looking to cut or consolidate routes. PIERCE TRANSIT, WASHINGTON The Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Corpo- ration, known locally as Pierce Transit (PT), provides bus, para- transit, vanpool, Bus Plus (deviated fixed-route), ride matching, and intercounty express services in a 414-square mile service area throughout Pierce County, Washington, which includes the city of Tacoma. Under agreement with the neighboring Sound Transit (Seattle), it also operates several Sound Tran- sit bus routes within Pierce County. The agency was created in 1979 after voters authorized a 0.3% sales tax to fund pub- lic transportation. An additional 0.3% sales tax was approved in 2002 after voter’s repealed funding by the state’s Motor Vehicle Excise Tax. It is the second largest transit system in Washington State, carrying nearly 19 million passengers annually. PT Tomorrow As with many transit systems around the country, PT ended the last decade trying to grapple with unprecedented growth in ridership coupled with declining revenues. Beginning in 2009, after two years of declining sales tax collections (which accounted for 70% of agency revenue), PT began a major effort, dubbed “PT Tomorrow,” to review its service delivery. Although finances were not the sole factor, the instability of the agency’s financial system provided an excellent opportu- nity for PT to evaluate itself and determine if it was providing the best and most efficient service for its customers. PT’s Outreach Strategy PT premised its public involvement effort on three primary objectives—inform, ask, and listen. These three goals helped the agency determine what information it needed to share with the public, the type of feedback needed, and how to restructure its routes based on community values and priorities. Innova- tive outreach, reaching a large number of constituents, and developing opportunities for future partnerships were sec- ondary objectives. Looking at each of the agency’s three primary public involvement goals individually provides a better understand- ing of how the overall process evolved. To achieve the “Inform” goal, PT set out to provide the public with a basic understanding of the agency’s services, riders, and finances. FIGURE 13 SETD staff providing community service.

33 Critical among these was a clear explanation of the current financial situation and why the agency needed to undertake the route structure evaluation. This educational component was included in all community presentations and design workshops through an interactive “PT 101 Quiz” (Figure 14). The “Ask” goal required input from members of the pub- lic on what they value about transit in the community. This was accomplished through another interactive exercise where the public prioritized its values to begin a discussion about transit’s role in social services, economic development, safety, the environment, livable communities, and geographic cov- erage. At workshops, open houses, transit center events, and other public meetings, citizens engaged in this activity and helped PT narrow down the list of values to the two most important ones—social service and economic development— which became the basis for developing its new service deliv- ery plan. Finally, “Listen” meant understanding the public input and incorporating it into the final plan to ensure that the updated system was driven by the community’s values. Building the plan from the community’s values was seen as a key mechanism for fostering public ownership of the sys- tem and building support for both the system and the process. Public Involvement Techniques PT used many outreach and communication techniques over the course of the PT Tomorrow study. Each of these was tai- lored to a specific set of stakeholders with specific messag- ing. The selection of individual techniques for PT Tomorrow began with an internal stakeholder analysis process where the specific groups whose input was important for the study were identified. The audiences PT targeted for outreach were divided into five distinct groups—community members, rid- ers, partners, leaders, and agency employees. For each group, PT determined the appropriate outreach techniques based on staff knowledge of what had worked in the past, what the public expected (websites, meeting, etc.), and by determin- ing what it wanted the public to say at the end of the outreach effort. The specific tools and messages for each group are included in Table 12. PT’s Success Factors To evaluate its public involvement efforts, PT looked at a broad range of quantitative statistics including numbers of events, participants, website visitors, comments, and brochures and direct mail pieces distributed. However, PT sought to gauge success on qualitative factors as well. This included assessing how engaged participants were in the process and their reac- tions to the outreach effort. Several critical factors helped lead to the success of PT’s public involvement effort: • Scale, breadth, and coordination of the outreach effort— The numbers from PT’s study speak to the large scale of the outreach effort—2 summits, 9 design workshops, 53 community presentations, 15 transit center events, 12 city council presentations, 822 survey participants, 16,500 brochures distributed, 38,900 postcards mailed, 1,700 website visitors, and 1,200 comments received. The techniques used (see Table 12) covered the spectrum of typical outreach methods to help ensure inclusion of all segments of the population. Each was also designed to reinforce messaging and promote further participation. City council presentations were timed a week before a design workshop to help raise awareness and partici- pation at the workshops. Brochures were distributed at community events, community meetings, transit stops, and transit centers to encourage participation at work- shops. Social media, TV, and radio all directed people to places to get more information. What resulted were high participation rates at meetings and workshops and large numbers of valuable comments received by the agency. • Commitment and dedication at all levels of the agency— In total, 59 agency employees participated in public involvement. Commitment to the effort came from the FIGURE 14 PT 101 quiz example question. (Source: PT Tomorrow Public Involvement Phase 1 Report, 2010.)

highest levels of management. PT’s CEO conducted 39 interviews with CEOs and executives from the county’s major employers, city managers, public agency direc- tors, non-profit leaders, presidents of local colleges and universities, labor leaders, state legislators, and the state Secretary of Transportation. This high-level contact, reinforced through a Leadership Summit, allowed a dia- logue to develop between PT and important stakehold- ers about the value of transit and its future serving the community. It also opened channels of communication to these stakeholders’ constituents. • Working within existing community structures—As with many agencies that conduct successful public involve- ment efforts, PT proactively took opportunities to go out and meet the public in the community. Staff distributed information and talked directly to customers at transit centers and park-and-ride lots, spoke at scheduled com- munity meetings, placed posters in bus shelters and on buses, sent direct mail to all residents along bus routes, and distributed brochures anywhere people were likely to gather. A key distinguisher of this effort was PT’s use of the strong neighborhood councils in Tacoma and 34 Lakewood that have communication channels to dis- seminate messages deep inside communities. By engag- ing these groups, PT was able to reach large numbers of people both at the meetings and through e-mails. The final statistics speak to PT’s success at engaging both its customers and the community at large. By the end of the process, PT had reached, both directly and indirectly, almost 60,000 people (representing more than 7% of the entire county’s population) through a variety of outreach and com- munication techniques. In addition, PT had face-to-face inter- action with more than 8,500 people. PT’s evaluation of its public involvement related back to its original goals of edu- cating the public, getting actionable feedback, and fostering a sense of community ownership of the plan. Common among the responses from participants in the process were comments such as “best public meeting ever” and “really enjoyed par- ticipating in this process.” For PT, this showed that the agency had generated interest in the planning process where partici- pants believed they had been heard. This success, in turn, allowed the agency to develop a plan based on community values and with “the community’s fingerprints all over it.” Audiences Involvement Tools Messages Community Members and Riders Community workshops Report to the community Facebook/Twitter Website Postcard E-mail Open houses Surveys Radio/TV Newspaper Public events Public presentations Citizen advisory committee Riders Transit center events Onboard surveys Bus ads/poster Educate on PT impact Funding Envisioning PTís Future Partners Presentations Leadership summit E-mail Face-to-face meetings Envisioning PT’s future What are today’s challenges for PT Coordination Leaders Individual meetings Leadership summit Educate on current PT impact Funding Envisioning PT’s future What are today’s challenges for PT PT employees Department meetings Town halls Focus groups Employee events E-mail Intranet—Inside PT The BUZZ Posters Funding Envisioning PT’s future Get involved Source: PT Tomorrow Public Involvement Plan (2009). TABLE 12 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT TOOLS AND MESSAGES

35 SUMMARY These six case studies offer examples—across a wide range of agency sizes, project types, and locations served—of what each agency has identified as successful public involvement. LACMTA’s success at engaging the public for the Westside Subway Extension can, in part, be traced to its effective use of social media, adaptive outreach strategies, and structuring its public involvement to allow input through a variety of means. WMATA’s success at introducing limited bus service is, in part, the result of its public involvement that included engag- ing those with intimate knowledge of the community, taking a “hands on” approach to engagement, utilizing Internet tech- nologies, and continuously involving the public in the plan- ning for the new route. Laketran faced the prospect of dramatic service cuts owing to declining revenue. What it found in its outreach efforts was that giving the public direct access to decision makers and building a reputation for being open and transparent allowed the agency to work with the public and its strategic partners to find new solutions to its funding problems. The PAAC case study showed how bringing its message directly to the community, using a broad spectrum of commu- nication mechanisms and continually engaging the commu- nity, led to success in developing its Transit Development Plan. SETD has managed to grow its transit service by clearly understanding the needs of the rural communities it serves. It did this through strategic partnerships, staff volunteer work in the community, and empowering agency employees to act as an extension of the agency’s outreach efforts. Finally, PT showed that scale, breadth, and coordination of outreach mat- ters, as does commitment at all levels of the agency and working within existing community structures.