The T wins national ridership growth award for 2nd consecutive year
FORT WORTH (March 10, 2008) -- If you thought you were seeing more people riding public transportation in the Fort Worth area, it’s not your imagination.
For the second consecutive year, The Federal Transit Administration presented The T an award for ridership growth at a ceremony in Washington D.C. on March 10 -- the same day that the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced that Americans had taken 10.3 billion trips on public transit in 2007 – the most in 50 years.
FTA Administrator James S. Simpson presented “Success in Enhancing Ridership” awards to 10 transit agencies for implementing innovative, practical ways to boost the number of riders, using techniques with the potential to be successfully implemented by other transit systems. The T won among transportation agencies serving populations of 200,000 to one million.
The T’s award was for developing programs that enhanced ridership nine percent for the period 2006 over 2005. The previous year, The T won this FTA award based on ridership growth of 11% for 2005 over 2004. Even on top of these gains, ridership in The T’s service area is currently increasing at a rate of about 2 to 4 percent per month.
“The T is extremely pleased to receive this national recognition for the second year in a row,” said Dick Ruddell, president and executive director of The T. “Increasing the number of people who use public transportation is so important for reducing congestion and improving air quality in our region, and I am proud that The T ‘s programs have helped in this effort,” he said.
During the 2005-2006 period, “The T” developed a campaign to target “choice” commuters with a strong cost-saving message to use public transportation as an alternative to their personal vehicle due to high gasoline prices. An advertising campaign was created to include a series of humorous print ads and direct mail pieces with a free day pass coupon to induce trial ridership. “The T” targeted schools and college students; all Fort Worth ninth graders (who are too young to drive) received a free annual freshman pass. Texas Christian University students, faculty, and staff all received free annual transit passes.
