ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Increasing Transit Ridership

Through a Targeted Transit Marketing Approach



by MICHELLE FRUMKIN-ROSENGAUS, Ph.D.

Dissertation Directors: Dr. George H. Nieswand and Dr. Adib Kanafani



In modem society, with its related problems of traffic congestion, pollution and driving stress, there is a true need to increase transit ridership. From the public transit systems' point of view, it is also necessary to increase ridership in order to obtain higher farebox revenue to help cover the operating expenses.



The research concentrates on commuters as the target market segment, analyzing their response to transit marketing at the place of employment. Two marketing theories are tested. The first is a Peer Pressure Theory proposing that it is more effective for a marketing campaign to target areas of existing high ridership. The second is a Utilitarian Theory suggesting that marketing campaigns will have an effect regardless of the area's previous ridership trends.



Santa Clara County Transit was used as the case study. The major employment centers used for the analysis were Varian, Lockheed and several companies located within Moffett Park. Information was obtained for 545 transit riders. After nine months of marketing campaigns, 21% of the transit riders were new riders and 79% were riders previous to the marketing efforts.



Several multivariate statistical techniques were used to analyze the data. A Correlation Analysis showed a positive, though small, correlation between the residential areas of new riders and old riders. A Principal Components Analysis indicated that 88% of the variation of new riders could be explained with fourteen variables combined into three components. A Multiple Regression Analysis showed that new riders could be predicted with a standard error of 1.6, yielding a multiple correlation coefficient of 0.8 between the number of predicted and observed new riders.



The research findings indicate that the response to transit marketing is in fact related to a peer pressure effect and to the diffusion of information, but there were other important factors as well. A long distance from place of residence to place of employment, in terms of commute time, was a key variable. High ridership areas were also characterized by a concentration of high household incomes, a predominance of white-collar workers and the existence of a conveniently located park-and-ride lot.