Palm Tran
Joe Harrington
Senior Manager of Public Relations
Palm Tran
West Palm Beach
Florida
Special Event or Conference
Palm Tran's Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony to Launch Bus System Overhaul
Palm Tran
Joe Harrington
Amanda Goebel- Marketing Manager
RoseAnn LaBella Voils- Senior Public Relations
Steve Quismundo- Graphic Artist
Palm Tran’s bus network in Palm Beach County had not been updated significantly in 22 years.
The Route Performance Maximization, or RPM, was a major initiative with the objective of improving service connections and providing more efficient service. Palm Tran’s plan was to attract the attention of current riders, future riders and the media regarding its bus network overhaul with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. More than 30 planning events and 70 outreach events were held prior. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the launch with a bus driving through a ribbon at a transportation hub in West Palm beach.
The target individuals were current and potential Palm Tran riders who would see the ribbon-cutting ceremony through media coverage and on Palm Tran’s social media platforms. This helped generate attention and awareness regarding the changes planned. The ribbon-cutting also occurred to receive media coverage in television, newspapers and transit publications.
Immediate results of the ribbon-cutting exceeded goals on the Sunday of the launch with an increase in ridership of 21 percent compared to the Sunday of the prior week thanks to the free ridership. The following three days, ridership increased: 10, 9 and 13 percent respectively compared to the previous week. Nearly 200 people attended the ceremony and the Facebook live stream of the event achieved 1,194 views.
Media placements nearly tripled, by reaching eight placements. A goal of a three percent increase in ridership during the first few months was exceeded with six percent ridership.
The RPM kick-off was an innovative approach to promoting Palm Tran’s largest service change in more than two decades. Palm Tran utilized in-person surveys to discover that many of its riders ride the bus out of economic necessity. This resulted in the idea of providing free four-day trial period immediately following the launch. Palm Tran maximized on promoting to its social media audience through livestreaming the event on Facebook. Elected officials and the media were invited to ensure the event received adequate coverage. The graphics, promotion of the event and media outreach were conducted in-house making it a cost-saving initiative.
Palm Tran kicked off the first significant bus network change in Palm Beach County with a highly effective bus “drive-through” ribbon-cutting event. The event was streamed live on Facebook with 1,194 views, more than double expectations. Eight media placements were obtained, smashing the goal of three.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNcQ3rBCRjQ