I spoke today in lovely Sarasota, Florida at the Florida Public Transportation Association meeting. The topic was advocacy and one of the discussion points was how to appeal to non-riders. Since most taxpayers are non-riders, it’s important that the agency serve them as well as riders.
Here are a few ways that agencies can directly serve non-riders:
1. Create a formal partnership with local law enforcement to serve as the eyes and ears of the community, pledging to immediately and directly report to law enforcement any activity or behavior that warrants further investigation. Even if this proves to be more symbolic than substantive, it should be a nice feeling to know that the bus drivers are also (formally) looking out for the safety of the community.
2. On a similar note, create a formal partnership with the municipality to report problems in the streets or sidewalks (like debris or flooding). Real-time data about traffic lights (and the lack of coordination) can also be sent to the city that manages traffic light timing to see whether the signal timing is actually working to improve the flow of traffic.
3. Free roadside assistance to any stranded motorist. I learned about this one from River Valley Metro Transit in Kankakee, Illinois. Anytime a driver sees a motorist stranded on the side of the road, the driver is to pull over and assist the motorist in any way possible. That’s a nice idea.
4. Promote local businesses on the system map for free. This is particularly helpful for route marketing.
Got any more?
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