Palm Tran Route Performance Maximization Ribbon Cutting for System Redesign

Target Audience: Palm Tran's bus network had not been updated significantly in 22 years. The Route Performance Maximization project or RPM was a major planning initiative to create faster travel times, improved connections and more efficient service. The major initiative was launched with a unique ribbon-cutting ceremony with a bus driving through a giant "ribbon." The event targeted existing riders to let them know about the changes. It also targeted choice riders who were encouraged to try out the enhanced system. Moreover, the event targeted media and elected officials.

Strategy Objective:The strategy of the event was to drive ridership as high as possible for the launch of the RPM bus network. The event was designed to promote the new more efficient bus network and the opportunity for everyone to tryout public transportation for free the first few days of the launch. This would be measured using APC ridership data. The longer-range objective was to encourage riders to return once they had tried out public transit for the first time. An additional goal was to receive at least three earned media placements.

Situation Challenge: The RPM was two years of research, public outreach, statistic gathering and planning. There were 31 planning events with the public and more than 70 outreach events at the time of launch, with the ribbon-cutting being the largest outreach event. Kicking off the new bus network in Palm Beach County necessitated a presentation unlike many others -- one that would achieve attention from present Palm Tran riders and future riders.

Results Impact: Immediate results exceeded goals: The Sunday of the launch, ridership increased by 21 percent compared to ridership the Sunday of the previous week. The following three days ridership increased: 10, 9 and 13 percent respectively compared to the previous week. Results included a sustained overall ridership increase of 6 percent year-over-year in the first month of newly enhanced bus network. Moreover, there were eight earned media placements. The ribbon-cutting event was also live-streamed on Facebook, achieving 1,194 views, making it among the most-viewed on Palm Tran's social media.

Why Submit: The ribbon-cutting event was a creative, innovative way to garner substantial attention for an enhanced bus network and to grow ridership. The event took extensive coordination with elected officials, media and featured a creative visual of a bus driving through a "ribbon." Moreover, the event had defined and measureable goals which were surpassed. The ribbon-cutting was well-attended by the general public, decision-makers and Palm Tran staff with a crowd of about 200 people. While major service changes can be disruptive to ridership, the kickoff event for the RPM helped it to be a smooth launch with ridership growth.