SBCTA Wins at American Public Transportation Association Marketing & Communications Conference

March 8, 2019

Each year, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) honors members’ marketing and communications efforts with the AdWheel Awards. This year, at the APTA Marketing & Communications Workshop, SBCTA won for their efforts to promote public transit in San Bernardino’s Mountain and Desert communities, more specifically for Best Print Media to Increase Ridership or Sales and for Best Partnership to Increase Ridership or Sales.
Last year, SBCTA in partnership with Victor Valley Transit Authority (VVTA), Mountain Transit, Morongo Basin Transit Authority (MBTA) and Needles Area Transit launched a campaign to offer travelers the chance to try transit. The theme of the campaign was “Set Yourself Free” – free to save money, to avoid parking hassles, or to simply get where they need to go without having to wait for a ride.
In the interest of attracting new riders to transit, every campaign element included both a free ride offer and instructions on how to use Google Maps for easy transit trip planning. The campaign ran through early fall and was tailored to the needs of each of the serviced communities.
Campaign elements included:

• Enhancements to transit information tools (including website, passenger guides and transit displays) to make it easier for people to learn about the transit services.
• Large post cards mailed to homes along transit routes with a coupon that allows the resident to ride free for any five days over a 4 week period.
• Newspaper ads in local newspapers and on news websites that make the same free ride offer.
• Poster campaigns at high traffic locations in all communities.
• Targeted programs with colleges (Victor Valley College and Copper Mountain College) and junior high/ high schools in the desert communities and with the tourism industry in the mountain communities.
• An outdoor campaign in the Victor Valley using bus sides and bus shelters to promote the system’s passenger enhancements including trip planning, real-time information and WiFi on buses.

While SBCTA sponsored the grant, these efforts were funded by Caltrans’ Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.