CoSA High-Frequency Routes 1.0 and 2.0

Target Audience: Current and potential future transit riders in the VIA Metropolitan Transit service area in the San Antonio region. As part of an innovative public-public partnership with the city of San Antonio and Bexar County, VIA Metropolitan Transit received nearly $28 million to fund more frequent service on VIA's most utilized routes. VIA microtargeted current and potential riders adjacent to each of the improved service corridors with two different campaigns; CoSA 1.0 and 2.0.

Strategy Objective:The geo-targeted media strategy for these two plans was to canvas convenience stores and the surrounding roads along the improved routes so that all commuters would be aware of VIA's frequent service. VIA utilized gas pump toppers, street banners spanning across roadways, posters, outdoor boards, bus shelters, print ads, and direct mailers to effectively target commuters along the improved routes. By offering coupons with a week of free rides on the back of the direct mailers, new riders were encouraged to give public transportation a try. The first campaign was primarily to raise awareness month by month as new routes were given route changes while the second campaign lumped all of the routes together as a greater celebratory campaign.

Situation Challenge: VIA marketed their CoSA route improvements to let riders know they would have a shorter wait and a faster connection on key corridors across the service area, thanks to reducing frequency levels from 30 minutes to 15 or less in some cases. Two different campaigns were used to represent the improved service as a feature first, and a benefit second. The first campaign stressed improved service by showcasing a red speedometer atop of a VIA bus with the headline "Shorter Wait. Faster Connections." The second phase used clever benefit messaging to show the rider a few examples of what they might do with the time they get back in their day. The "More Time for You" creative was displayed by showing riders that they could have more coffee, spend more time with their kids, or even hit snooze.

Results Impact: When comparing the ridership numbers on the high-frequency routes from January ' September 2017 versus 2018, there are over 650,000 additional rides taken on the improved routes. By canvasing the entire route with advertisements both promoting the reliability of the buses as well as the benefit of having more time back in your day, VIA was able to effectively use the government issued budget specifically allotted to keep the city moving. Out of 14 routes that were given improved frequency changes, nine saw drastic spikes in their ridership which led to increased sales and an overall positive perception of VIA within the community.

Why Submit: In contrast to nationwide trends of falling ridership, VIA, thanks to its strategic use of additional funding to improve service, along with an innovative, laser-focused marketing campaign, has achieved astonishing ridership gains across its system. In fact, the ridership gains on the targeted routes resulted in an overall boost in system-wide ridership in August of 2018 over August of 2017.