Local State Rep. Jakobsson Talks To A Reporter About The Service!
As we mentioned earlier this week, Permanent Campaigns undertook a major press event for one of our clients. That it was a success is outstanding, given that it involved coordinating trains on three routes with more than one hundred mayors, alderman, state reps and city officials in more than two dozen communities on the same day (you can see photos and copies of some of the press coverage we generated here)
There were so many great memories from the event, including the City of Mattoon giving us boxes of freshly made sandwiches for the long train trip across the state. It was a reminder that local leaders appreciate transit and are willing to work towards the goal of increased ridership if they’re asked nicely.
It’s also a reminder that local press will cover our successes when we ask them to do so. This story from The Southern Illinoisan (the major daily covering news in the southern portion of the state) includes all the highlights and a great local quote:
The news from Amtrak came as officials from Midwest High Speed Rail Association, a Chicago-based railway lobbying group, announced their new campaign at the Carbondale Amtrak station.
The campaign, Catch an Illinois Train, is aimed at highlighting the expanded Amtrak schedule and the growth in demand for the company’s services.
Rick Harnish, MHRA’s executive director said in a release that increased ridership is helping to shrink costs.
“We’ve saved more than $3 million from all the increased ridership and ticket sales,” he said. “The more riders we have, the better off we all are.”
City councilwoman Mary Pohlmann was at the station and said the train is a part of Carbondale’s history and its future.
“This town was built around a train (station),” she said. “The train is what brought people here. That’s how Carbondale became a town.”
Pohlmann added that the use of the train by university students has likely proved to be a boon to Amtrak and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
We’ve documented the success of this event in a brief report, which can be downloaded here (PDF). As we’ve been saying, it’s not just service changes and driver strikes that generate interest and headlines. A well-coordinated communications plan can bring positive attention to the service and disseminate information to prospective riders at the same time.
Trackbacks