newfound desire for environmental stewardship (proactive) while also aiming to dispel possible misconceptions of transit (reactive).
Proactive: Marketing that Says Transit is a Solution to Their Environmental Concerns One way of attracting new users to transit is through marketing directly to the environmentally-conscious households group with a proactive approach that suggests that transit is a solution to both their environmental concerns and their overall frustration with the automobile. A few past North American campaigns that have targeted this group include: How We Get There Matters from TriMet in Portland, Oregon; Dump The Pump and Green, Greener, Greenest from Capital Metro in Austin, Texas; and Green and Growing from Lane Transit District in Eugene, Oregon.
TriMet’s How We Get There Matters A Campaign with the Marketing in the Motto TriMet was established 1969 by the Oregon State Legislature in an effort to reprioritize public transportation planning in the Portland metro area. Today, Portland has the 7th highest transit ridership per capita in the country though it is only the 24th largest metro area, and TriMet reports that 83 percent of its riders are choice riders who either own a car and choose to take transit as well, or choose not to own a car at all (TriMet, 2009). Since 1993, transit campaigns by TriMet have focused on attracting a group of new riders that are consciously making changes in their daily routine for environmental reasons. In a survey of potential riders, a group that responded that they “already made changes in the way they do things for environmental reasons” were the target of a new campaign called How We Get There Matters. Originally intended to market to new riders, TriMet’s Marketing manager Yvonne Lyon said, “the participants helped us shape things for all
Figure 2. Ridership trends in Portland. Source: National Transit Database.
rider groups.” (TCRP, 1998). Though no direct correlation in ridership was determined, Portland saw steady increases in overall ridership in the 1990s (Figure 2) and this should be attributed in part to Portland’s overall environmental awareness (Polzin, 2003).
Capital Metro’s Dump the Pump and Green, Greener, Greenest Pointing out the Obvious in a New Way Capital Metro was founded in 1983 and currently serves a 500-square-mile area in the Austin metropolitan region. With the highest per capita ridership in Texas, the authority is constantly in pursuit of creative marketing strategies to attract new riders. Recognizing that transportation is now the second largest expense for most American households, consuming on average twenty cents of every dollar (Casey Foundation, 2009), Capital Metro’s marketing department
EST: Riding Capital Metro saves 4,800 pounds of carbon per year (Capital Metro, 2010). The campaign is successful because it points out the role of transportation mode choice in making real changes in daily lifestyle. It suggests that while all the other efforts we make are good, the greenest is taking transit. To further demonstrate the point, the website also provides site visitors with a commute cost calculator and a quick and easy carbon footprint calculator.
Lane Transit’s Green and Growing
Transit is Green and Green is Catchy. Lane Transit District (LTD), the transit provider for the Eugene—Springfield metro region, began in 1980. A bus rapid transit (BRT) pilot corridor called EmX between Eugene and downtown Springfield opened in 2001 to serve the high traffic volume on that corridor. Today, 60 percent of the corridor is exclusive bus lanes (LTD, 2009). A 2009 commercial for the EmX BRT line shows an animated interpretation of a green utopia that transit could offer. The jingle in the commercial explains that the route from Springfield to Eugene is “Quick and Clean.” The 30-second ad ends with EmX’s logo and new slogan: “Green and began to appeal to cost-conscious Austinites Growing EmX Transit” (Transit Magazine, 2009). with their 2002 “Dump the Pump” campaign. The campaign has been studied as a part of Campaign Director Rick L’Amie said, “We wanted a LTDs Point2Point program which “promotes to target an audience whom expressed they were and offers transportation options programs to the just so sick of spending money on gas (L’Amie, 2009).” The campaign has since been adopted by Lane County region’s businesses, organizations, and educational institutions for their employees, the American Public Transportation Association staff and students” (LTD, 2009). A 2008 survey (APTA) as an effective way to promote public conducted of Point2Point participants found transportation nationwide. that 38 percent of the 2,075-person sample had However, Capital Metro went further with their recent “Green, Greener, Greenest” Campaign. changed their typical mode of transportation to get to or from work in the 12 months prior to This campaign pointed out that while there are taking the survey. Further, “74 percent of the many things that one can do to become greener, the greenest of all efforts could perhaps be riding 2008 sample has used their Group Pass to ride the transit. The agency’s website says, “Riding Capital bus to work (compared to 58 percent in 2002)” Metro for just one day reduces your carbon emis- (Lockwood, 2008). The commercial’s message sions by about 20 pounds. The benefit to the envi- is so strong because it takes advantage of the fact that going green is en vogue and capitalizes on ronment is far greater than some of the common making an association between green and transit. actions people are encouraged to take,” (Capital Metro, 2010). The ongoing campaign appears in print advertising as well as the Authority’s website Reactive Marketing: Overcoming that breaks-down the logic for patrons, “GREEN: Perceptions that Deter Replacing an older refrigerator freezer with a non-users from Transit high efficiency one saves 335 pounds of carbon Outside of reasons inherent to the U.S. per year. GREENER: Home weatherizing and transportation debate, many potential transit adjusting the thermostat for heating and cooling users who have access to transit have not tried it saves 2,847 pounds of carbon per year. GREENbecause they:
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