{"id":19715,"date":"2020-01-22T18:05:28","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T18:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.publicinput.com\/?p=19715"},"modified":"2025-12-18T00:16:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:16:46","slug":"transit-agencies-3-steps-to-gather-more-public-feedback-that-can-also-increase-ridership-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2020\/01\/22\/transit-agencies-3-steps-to-gather-more-public-feedback-that-can-also-increase-ridership-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Transit agencies: 3 steps to gather more public feedback that can also increase ridership"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"19715\" class=\"elementor elementor-19715\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31b4d053 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"31b4d053\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-656b8a1e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"656b8a1e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><strong>\u201c<em>Who is our audience?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It is important for transit agencies to ensure that current riders are having a great experience, but too often our reach is constrained to just those individuals. This prevents us from achieving the combined goals of gathering feedback while also increasing ridership.<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>By expanding our reach to the broader community, we can:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Increase awareness of transit service<\/li>\n<li>Understand why residents are not using services<\/li>\n<li>Show intent on building relationships through two-way communication<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Questions aimed at understanding what is keeping someone from using transit or where route expansions or zone coverage could be most impactful, serve as both informative and promotional. Distributing these across\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/mixed-mode-surveying-a-best-practice-for-increasing-equity-in-public-engagement\/\">a mixed mode of formats<\/a>\u00a0increases equity in reach [1], and can even reduce margin of survey error [2].<\/p>\n<h3><strong>STEP #1: Strategically combine virtual and traditional tactics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A common public involvement hurdle is project awareness\u2014simply getting the word out to residents so that they can provide input. These tactics (or \u201cmodes\u201d) can be more traditional or virtual. You are probably already using several of these:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a293a1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4a293a1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TRADITIONAL-e1579639823399-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230226\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TRADITIONAL-e1579639823399-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TRADITIONAL-e1579639823399-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TRADITIONAL-e1579639823399-1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8caf845 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8caf845\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When thinking about reaching the broader community\u2014and particularly underrepresented groups\u2014 a\u00a0<em>work smarter not harder<\/em>\u00a0approach can help save time and effort.\u00a0<strong>Social media targeting provides this opportunity:<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c0adf5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2c0adf5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image5-1024x406-1.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230227\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image5-1024x406-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image5-1024x406-1-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image5-1024x406-1-768x305.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-754ca91 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"754ca91\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>GoTriangle used social media and news media targeting to reach the ESL community:<br \/><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Likewise, combining a virtual tactic (text messaging) with a traditional one (physical signage) can help meet residents where they are and on-the-go.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e34976d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e34976d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"583\" height=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image8-e1579640306787-1.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230228\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image8-e1579640306787-1.png 583w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image8-e1579640306787-1-300x101.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60939bf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"60939bf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In this case, a resident can see an opportunity to engage, provide feedback via text, and have their input aggregated alongside feedback from a public meeting or an online survey: everyone\u2019s voice is equal.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>STEP #2: Create opportunities for follow-up and continuous engagement<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Building a public participation database helps close the feedback loop during specific projects, while also creating a foundation for future communication efforts. Contrary to some popular beliefs, residents want to hear from you: statistics show that emails that close the feedback loop have a much\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/what-are-the-benefits-of-closing-the-feedback-loop\/\">higher open rate than the average\u00a0email<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d1b252e elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d1b252e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"552\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image6-1024x552-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230229\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image6-1024x552-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image6-1024x552-1-300x162.jpg 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image6-1024x552-1-768x414.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9c3eaf4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9c3eaf4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong><em>How does this help reach more residents and increase ridership?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u2018Relationship\u2019 is the key word here: every interaction is an opportunity, so our efforts need to be coordinated and strategic. A Citizen Relationship Manager (CRM) is a public participation database that creates opportunities to re-engage with residents, building confidence in our ability to truly hear them.<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n<p>And similar to targeted social outreach, the right CRM will allow you to automatically create segments and target residents directly from your public participation database (but without the bill from Facebook):<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-283c3f2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"283c3f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image2-4-1024x626.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230230\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image2-4-1024x626.png 1024w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image2-4-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image2-4-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image2-4.png 1472w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1909f29 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1909f29\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>GeoTargeting to re-engage with residents, directly from a public participation database.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>STEP #3 Unify engagement efforts to see the big picture and influence decision making<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-180a81c elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"180a81c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"814\" height=\"382\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image3-1.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230231\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image3-1.png 814w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image3-1-300x141.png 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image3-1-768x360.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 814px) 100vw, 814px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-de12cde elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"de12cde\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Using mixed-mode outreach is a best practice, but matching tools with tactics leads to siloed-off data and can make it difficult to see the big picture when trying to make decisions.<\/p>\n<p>By unifying engagement to have all input stored in one place with everyone receiving an equal voice, transit agencies can make decisions that not only improve services, but are also responsive to the broader community.<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Why is that important?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>To increase ridership you need to increase your reach and show the broader community the value of public transit services. By reaching more residents\u2014those who may not yet be riders\u2014you can immediately make an impression while also showing that their input is valuable to the decision making process.<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>So, can more public participation from the broader community increase ridership?<br \/><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While it would be overreaching to say that this idea is always true, getting in front of and hearing from the broader community can only serve as a vehicle for potentially increasing ridership.<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>With SMS and Email tactics alone, transit agencies are already seeing increased participation from their current list of residents:<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f4f0328 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f4f0328\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"632\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image4-3.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230232\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image4-3.png 632w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image4-3-300x166.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b5008fe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b5008fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>By using email and SMS connected to a resident database, GETBus received 31% participation from their new RYDE microtransit program ridership in just two weeks<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ee50be elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2ee50be\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"980\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image7-1-980x510-1.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-230233\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image7-1-980x510-1.png 980w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image7-1-980x510-1-300x156.png 300w, https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image7-1-980x510-1-768x400.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0c20d44 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0c20d44\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Nearly 50% of residents who used RYDE had never ridden with GETBus more than a couple times a month, and 19% of those riders had never used a GETBus service before at all.<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/transit-agencies-3-steps-to-gather-more-public-feedback-that-can-also-increase-ridership-2\/#demo\"><strong>Learn more about how transit agencies are reaching the broader community with an intro conversation.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e515d8b elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"e515d8b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">GET A DEMO<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cWho is our audience?\u201d It is important for transit agencies to ensure that current riders are having a great experience, but too often our reach is constrained to just those individuals. This prevents us from achieving the combined goals of gathering feedback while also increasing ridership. By expanding our reach to the broader community, we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":19702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-scaled.jpeg","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-scaled.jpeg",2560,1367,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-scaled.jpeg",2560,1367,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-scaled.jpeg",2560,1367,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-300x160.jpeg",300,160,true],"large":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-1024x547.jpeg",1024,547,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-1536x820.jpeg",1536,820,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AdobeStock_4241585-2048x1093.jpeg",2048,1093,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Jay Dawkins","author_link":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/author\/jaydawkins\/"},"rttpg_comment":1,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/category\/blog\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Blog<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"\u201cWho is our audience?\u201d It is important for transit agencies to ensure that current riders are having a great experience, but too often our reach is constrained to just those individuals. This prevents us from achieving the combined goals of gathering feedback while also increasing ridership. By expanding our reach to the broader community, we&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19715"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230743,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19715\/revisions\/230743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}