State Road and Tollway Authority (Peach Pass)

Target Audience: Commuters living, working, visiting in the Northwest Corridor (NWC) area of Metro Atlanta which includes the counties of Cobb, Cherokee, Bartow, Douglas and Fulton.

Strategy Objective:To reduce traffic congestion along the Interstate 75 North and Interstate 575 corridor on its general-purpose lanes and provide more reliable trip times to users. The organization strategic goals were threefold: - Drive Peach Pass account registrations among motorists using NWC Express Lanes - Drive acceptance, adoption & usage of NWC - Increase the amount of Peach Pass statewide transponders to 75,000 and 25,000 for the NWC region

Situation Challenge: Like many municipalities across the United States, metro Atlanta continues to grow both in population size and traffic congestion despite ongoing efforts by government, businesses and organizations to alleviate commute times for both city and suburban residents. In particular, the Northwest Corridor along Interstates 75 North and 575 with its surrounding communities have seen unprecedent growth in business and housing development pushing demand for innovative approaches to make commuting easier. The State Road and Tollway Authority, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Transportation, developed a comprehensive marketing and education outreach campaign across the region promoting Peach Pass usage. Marketing tactics included Print, Broadcast, and Social & Outdoor media.

Results Impact: The NWC Express Lanes were launched on September 10, 2018 and have seen unprecedented commuter usage and support from businesses, local governments and commuters alike. SRTA achieved its strategic goal of 62,000 Peach Pass transponders statewide by August 2018 and as of November 20, 2018, current numbers were at 123,064 for Peach Pass transponders/tags and 78,370 in accounts. SRTA also met and exceeded its original goal of 25,000 for the number of transponders in the Northwest Corridor region, starting July 1, 2017. As of October 2018, SRTA has generated 69, 434 transponders and 42,334 account so far. As of November 2018, motorists took 471,550 trips on the Northwest Corridor during its first month of operation. Commuters are taking more than 20,000 trips on an average weekday.

Why Submit: The NWC project was recently named the No. 1 transportation project on Roads & Bridges' 2018 Top 10 Roads list. Additionally, the SRTA marketing and outreach campaign has helped to drive and exceed Peach Pass account registrations goals, increase usage & acceptance of the express lanes along the Interstate 75 North corridor and provided commuters with improved options to commute to and from work. As the largest transportation project in Georgia history, we believe our successful Marketing and Outreach campaign to promote and educate commuters along the 30-mile-long NWC Express Lanes is worthy of recognition by APTA and its members.