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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

October 2008

VTA Bus Route Overhaul Helps Riders Find Way to San Jose — and Beyond

One of over 200 VTA employee ambassadors answers questions about the redesigned bus service.
(Photo: Noah Berger)

Change is often met with resistance. Not so the redesign of the bus service operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), winner of a 2008 Award of Merit. Thanks to the efficient, comprehensive overhaul and an impressive communications and outreach campaign, bus ridership was up by 11 percent in the period from January through April 2008 — the service’s first four months — compared to the same period in 2007, according to Cynthia Santoro, VTA management analyst.

After more than two years of research, evaluation and plan implementation, VTA launched the redesigned bus system on Jan. 14, 2008. Affecting over 100,000 weekday bus riders and almost all VTA bus lines, the new system included major route changes and improved service frequency. Bus lines with low ridership were eliminated and new lines were added, including two new express bus routes and 11 routes with smaller buses, called community buses, that feature lower fares. VTA also instituted more frequent service — every 15 minutes or better — on core bus routes.

“We cut service in places where there wasn’t demand, and we added service in places where there was potential for ridership growth,” said Bernice Alaniz, deputy director of marketing and communications.

VTA staff’s communication plan was centered around the slogan, “The New VTA — New Service, New Standards, New Commitment.” The communications campaign was multilingual, with messages in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese and Tagalog. The new service was promoted in creative ways, reaching out to all age groups, from extensive advertising in the San Jose Mercury News (which included an eight-page color insert and a sticky-note on the front page) to a cinema ad and a Val-Pak coupon mailed to 390,000 households within the county. Television and radio ads, car cards and bus boards on VTA light-rail trains and buses, station posters, and advertisements in community-based newspapers and foreign language papers com- pleted the information blitz, along with various brochures and news releases.

Over 200 VTA employees served as ambassadors at 25 transit hubs to inform and engage riders about the new bus service. Ambassadors were equipped with a detailed toolkit containing information about the new service. Wearing “Ask Me” stickers or buttons, ambassadors made personal contact with as many riders as possible at their stations over a two-week period, handing out brochures showing route changes and timetables.

“Because of our advertising campaign and face-to-face, two-week ambassadorship efforts, we achieved a very high level of rider awareness prior to the launch date,” said VTA’s Santoro.

Ridership numbers have continued to be strong. In July, total system ridership for bus and light rail showed an increase of 9.6 percent over July 2007, Santoro said.

— Georgia Lambert

See VIDEO: Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s New Bus Service Initiative

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