RTD Communications Department Annual Overview and Update RTD Board Study Session August 27, 2013

Communications Department Internal Audit Customer Information Government Relations Public Relations Public Information Marketing 2

Customer Information Division Customer Sales and Information Special Discount Card Program Customer Service Division Representatives Telephone Information Center –Inbound Telephone Customer Service –MyStop IVR – -based Customer Service –InfoRide Program 3

Customer Sales and Information 2009 $6,116, $5,934, $6,168, $6,322, YTD $3,778,093 4 ● Provides transportation information and ticket sales outlets at Denver International Airport, Civic Center, Market Street, and the Boulder Transit Center ● Administers 748 Bike Lockers ● Oversees 20 Senior Volunteers Ticket Sales Totals Lost and Found Items Recovered 2012 Total Items Recovered 19, Year to Date Items Recovered 13,135 Includes approximately 100 bicycles per month and up to 20 cellphones per day

Special Discount Card Program 20094, , , , YTD 3,231 5 Open in Denver Mon-Fri, Boulder every Monday, and Longmont the second Monday of every month Provides discount fare cards to seniors and individuals with disabilities Special Discount Cards Issued

Customer Service Division Representatives Work closely to research with Division Managers and Operators Research all Bus and Light Rail complaints Complaint and Commendation Volume , , , , YTD 24,566

Telephone Information Center – Million Total Calls Inbound Telephone Customer Service Calls 2013 Call Volume – 2,216,394 projected 2013 Average Talk Time increase of 16 seconds after W-Line Opening 2012 Call Volume – 2,126,043 answered on average within 71 seconds 2011 Call Volume – 2,973,991 answered on average within 75 seconds 2010 Call Volume 2,953,148 answered on average within 63 seconds 7

Telephone Information Center (cont.) MyStop IVR and Customer Service 8 MyStop Call Volume , ,809, ,044, ,168, YTD 1,239,741

Telephone Information Center (cont.) InfoRide Program –Promotes ridership by providing in-person information and Q&A sessions –Contributed to local Earth Day Celebrations, West Rail Line Openings, Cinco de Mayo Festival, Parker Days, Juneteenth, Back to School Events and more 9 InfoRides Provided YTD

What’s Next Special Discount Card Program  Redesigned application  Implementation of Mail-in application process Telephone Information Center - Customer Service  Conversion from Outlook to ZenDesk CRM  Improved Response Time  Customer Service via Social Media 10

What’s Next Telephone Information Center (cont.) -Inbound Telephone Customer Service  Improved Technology  New Focus on One-and-Done Service Delivery  Planning for the Future – Expand or Move 11

What’s Next MyStop Conversion to new IVR – September 2013 MyStop Text Messaging – Fourth Quarter

Government Relations Federal Lobbying efforts through Patton Boggs State Liaison efforts through Brandeberry~ McKenna Local Government Liaison efforts through CRL Associates 13

Government Relations Look back at 2013 –Very successful state legislative session House Bill – Sales tax parity with the State of Colorado Senate Bill – Third-party parking –Reviewed and monitored over 600 bills and resolutions 22 significant bills 66 bills of lesser impact to RTD –Coordinated with Brandeberry~McKenna State lobbying team 14

Government Relations Look back at 2013 (continued) –Coordinated local government issues with CRL Associates –Prepared FY’14 Appropriations booklet –Coordinated APTA Legislative Conference –Represented RTD at local and national meetings –Assisted with Public Relations events protocol and invitations 15

Government Relations Look ahead for –Begin discussions for 2014 state legislative session –Prepare FY’15 Appropriation booklet –Continue coordination at local level with CRL Associates –Work on DUS Bus Concourse grand opening in

Public Relations Division Formed in 2011 The PR Team –Acting PR Manager Lisa Trujillo –Public Relations Specialist (Lisa Trujillo) –Public Relations Specialist, Community Outreach Julia Yugel –Annual Intern Vacant 17

Role of RTD Public Relations To anticipate, analyze, interpret and influence public opinion and assess needs To counsel management on policy decisions and public implications To regularly research, measure and evaluate efforts to inform public understanding, helping to enable RTD’s continued success To plan, manage, hire, train and collaborate with limited resources to achieve all of the above 18

2013/2014 Objectives Supporting RTD’s Annual Priorities Sharing how RTD is both innovative and fiscally sustainable Improving RTD’s online reach and reputation Enhancing constituent collaboration and communication Growing riders and engaging customers Advancing RTD FasTracks programs and projects Strengthening Internal and External Communications and Media Relations 19

Internal Communications Monday Morning Q Created Weekly Content Distributed to all RTD employees Electronic/Hard Copies Intranet “the hub” Events Employee of the Month Message from SLT Around RTD Daily Press Clips Media Monitoring for Tone, Topic and Outlet Department Collaboration 20

External Communications Media Relations – 24/7 Availability Print, Radio, Television, Community Newsletters and Newspapers Local, Regional, National, International News Releases/Media Advisories – 115 YTD Media Requests - ↑ 125 YTD Public Relations Inbox - ↑ 2,000 YTD Targeted Pitching Community Outreach American Red Cross AED Campaign WIN Media Day First Responder Training Exercises for W Line Parker Town Hall Meeting Pine Junction Groundbreaking West Chamber of Commerce W Line Presentation Voices on Canvas Presentation WIN Donation Presentation Ethiopian Delegation NEWalkfest Arvada Harvest Festival – 9/7 Thornton Harvest Festival – 9/7 21

External Communications Cont. RTD Website Contribute to News & Alerts Service Delay Notifications Social Media Use Twitter to Relay Service Disruption Information Reach up to 130K Per Tweet News Stations Pick-up W Line Tweets – Opening Weekend – 693K FB Inaugural VIP Train Photo – 25K/1,300 Likes/139 Shares 22

What’s Next Prepare for Union Station Opening Smartcard Phase II Safety Campaigns Automated Stop Announcements Service Changes Meet with RTD Board to Increase Outreach and Enhance Engagement 23

Challenges Current –Two staff vacancies Future –As FasTracks projects are completed, there will be a need for additional base system PR staffing/resources to meet media demands –Increased public outreach for RTD, one of the nation’s largest transit districts 24

FasTracks Public Information Combination of RTD staff and consultant staff Program PI Staff –Focused on overarching communications and outreach Project PI Staff –Focused on project-level communications and outreach –PI Liaisons on each project; lead PI effort –Contractor PI staff in a support role 25

FasTracks PI Media Relations 2013 FasTracks Media Stats Total news stories 2013 (print, TV, radio, Internet) – 466 FasTracks web stats July 2012 vs. July 2013 –Unique visitors ↑ 79% (91,000 vs.163,000) –Visits ↑ 82% (244, 000 vs.1,134,000) –Page views ↑ 49% (719,000 vs.1.1M) Top 3 FasTracks Facebook posts –Throwback Thursday: About 40 years ago, downtown had blocks of surface parking lots –FasPhoto Friday: Our first commuter rail car undergoing testing before full production starts on the train cars –Crews installing track along the East Rail Line 26

FasTracks PI Public Involvement 2013 Public Opinion Survey – Complete Telephone Town Halls – Fall Citizens’ Advisory Committee Quarterly Upcoming Meetings –September 18 – D.L. Parsons Theatre, Northglenn Rec Center, 3 p.m. –December 11 – Stapleton Foundation, 6 p.m. 27

FasTracks PI Public Outreach Community Presentations –230 presentations so far this year –7,400 attendees Special Events –Halfway to Opening Day Eagle P3 event – August 22 –North Metro Contractor Announcement – November –Groundbreaking for North Metro – 2014 –DUS Bus Concourse Opening – May 9, 2014 DBE/SBE Outreach –Optimize communication about successes/opportunities Community Events and Festivals 28

FasTracks PI Public Outreach Public Awareness and Education Campaign –PI Strategic Priorities Promoting progress Fostering regional collaboration Touting community benefits Personalizing FasTracks –Goals of Campaign To grow the familiarity of FasTracks To educate about FasTracks progress and project completion dates To build on the sense of community pride in FasTracks To personalize FasTracks 29

FasTracks PI Public Outreach Public Awareness and Education Campaign –Considerations from 2013 Survey Reduces traffic congestion Creates new jobs Reduces air pollution –Preferred information channels s TV news Newspapers –Year-long sustained campaign versus two-month burst 30

Marketing Division Marketing Communications Creative Services Market Research Sales Contracts & Events 31

Marketing Division Market Research –Customer satisfaction surveys by mode –Internal ad hoc research requests –RTD Customer Panel 32

Marketing Division Sales –Eco Pass Program –Neighborhood Pass Program –College Pass Program –Non-Profit Agency Reduced Fare Program 33

Marketing Division Contracts & Events –On-vehicle advertising program –Media trade program –Special events (i.e. W Line Grand Opening) –Station naming & corporate sponsorship program 34

Marketing Division Marketing Communications & Creative Services –W Line campaign –Web update, including FasTracks integration –BRT and Circulator update –APTA Awards –CASTA Conference in Sept. 35

Questions? “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” ~Helen Keller 36