Understanding how to Motivate Communities to Support and Ride Public Transportation

Book excerpt: TCRP Report 122: Understanding How to Motivate Communities to Support and Ride Public Transportation provides a comprehensive discussion on the methods and strategies used by public transportation agencies in the United States and Canada to enhance their public images and motivate the support and use of public transportation. Additionally, the report identifies and describes methods and strategies used by other industries (comparable to public transportation) to enhance their public image and to motivate the support and use of their products and services. Also, this report examines the perceptions, misperceptions, and use of public transit, and the extent to which these affect support. Finally, the report identifies effective communication strategies, campaigns, and platforms for motivating individuals to action in support of public transportation, and it recommends ways to execute those communication strategies, campaigns, and platforms. This report will be helpful to transit agencies; elected officials; community leaders; business leaders; and federal, state, and local funding agencies in both the United States and Canada.