STM- Smog Campaign

Target Audience: The STM considers itself proactive and wants to contribute to improving air quality by raising awareness among drivers and encouraging them to change their habits, particularly during smog alerts. The STM implemented a two-pronged initiative. First, it reached out to drivers stuck in traffic at multiple busy spots on the Island of Montr'al, offering them a two-trip fare card and raising awareness about improving air quality. Second, it made committed customers (annual subscribers to the monthly pass) into ambassadors by sending a two-trip fare card to their homes for them to give to a friend who doesn't use public transit. Target audience: -Montrealers who occasionally or do not use public transit -Drivers in the Montr'al area -Committed public transit users

Strategy Objective:Project objectives: Raise awareness among drivers about improving air quality Encourage occasional users and non-users of public transit to use it more often Strengthen the STM's positioning as an actor for sustainable development Strategies: Take advantage of hot summer days to launch the campaign Interact with drivers stuck in traffic at intersections along critical roadways and/or around roadwork on the Island of Montr'al Encourage committed customers to act as ambassadors Offer 40,000 occasional-use two-trip fare cards Make the connection between public transit and improving air quality Use smog alerts to encourage drivers to try public transit, hoping that they will realize that it lets them avoid traffic jams and adopt it for good

Situation Challenge: The STM chose to conduct its campaign during summer 2018, at a time when heat waves were causing intense smog in Quebec. In our province, the transportation sector is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions. It accounted for 41% of the province's total emissions in 2014. Road transportation alone accounts for 82% of emissions in the sector. This was also a good time of year for the campaign because Montr'al is going through a period of major roadwork, which causes traffic jams, even in the summer when traffic is usually lighter.

Results Impact: From July 4 to 12, 2018, a campaign squad went on 28 outings between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. During the campaign, 15,000 handouts with a two-trip fare card were distributed. There were also 22,850 interactions with customers. The squad was greeted very warmly by the people it interacted with. A little over 24,200 fare cards were also sent to our ambassadors by mail. Of the 39,211 fare cards that were distributed, 22,389 were used at least once as of November 2, for a total of 41,000 trips (an average of 1.83 trips per fare card). According to our predictions, 22,911 of the cards will have been used before the fares expire on November 15, for a usage rate of 58.4%. The media coverage of this campaign was also extremely positive, with 16 mentions in Montr'al media outlets.

Why Submit: Holding this campaign at the beginning of the hottest time of year generated great coverage in print and online media as well as chatter on social media (including a very positive tweet from Montr'al's mayor). The STM therefore succeeded in reaching out to and raising awareness among a larger audience than originally intended. Excluding the value of the fare cards, this campaign cost the STM $25,000: $18,000 in printing and postal costs and $7,000 for the fare card distribution squad and its promotional material.