A DAY IN THE LIFE SMALL AGENCY Marketing & Communications Workshop 2018 Jennifer Balmes, Graphic Designer and Marketing Assistant Roaring Fork Transportation Authority

ABOUT ROARING FORK TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority has been in operation since 1983. Providing over 5 million trips annually, RFTA is the 2nd largest transit system in Colorado and the largest rural transit system in the United States and is considered the equivalent of 14 average–size rural transit agencies RFTA SERVICES 5 Yearly Seasonal Schedule Changes 70 mile service region – Aspen to Rifle 106 buses, includes 22 compressed natural gas (CNG) BRT buses; 22 vans including 3 CNG; 41 utility vehicles Winter Ski Shuttles Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area bus tours in partnership with the US Forest Service Winter X Games and Music Festival Shuttles ADA Disability Services for multiple counties and towns Owns and co-manages a 34-mile Rio Grande Railroad Corridor and Rio Grande Trail We live in a nook in Colorado surrounded by valleys and mountains, RFTA gets a variety of riders including commuters who work in the ski/hospitality industry, skiers who ride shuttles from mountain to mountain, tourist who opt to take the bus to outdoor activities and locals who choose to take public transportation due to the convenience and reliable service. Our service covers about 97 miles plus in town routes making it easy for people to be able to take the bus up and down our valley. One of RFTA lead roles in our community is providing public transportation during major events, such as the X Games or large events in town USA Pro Challenge etc

OUR PLATFORMS Facebook Instagram Twitter RFTA’s social media consists of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, while we are available on other accounts these are the ones that have proved most effective for us therefore we dedicate more time to them. With Facebook being our most popular and interactive we try to post on average 3 posts per week unless rider alerts come up, additionally we use it for sharing RFTA news links, special rider events, caption contests, rider campaigns, videos, news articles, job openings and the biggest one is answering rider questions. On the other hand Instagram has been our friendliest social media due to its graphic content. We use this to share transit photos, upcoming events, rider alerts and fun content. Twitter has been pretty quiet for us and is mostly used for breaking news, upcoming events, rider alerts, rider questions and complaints RFTA news links, rider alerts, caption contests, rider campaigns, news articles, answering rider questions. Average of 2-3 posts/week unless rider alerts come up Transit photos, upcoming events, rider alerts and fun content. Average of 2-3 posts/week unless rider alerts come up Breaking news, rider alerts, news articles and rider questions.. Average of 1 post/week unless rider alerts come up

Check platforms Check local news Start responding HOW WE RESPOND HOW I START MY DAY Check platforms Check local news Start responding HOW WE RESPOND Follow up with other departments so everyone is on the same page Direct people to where to find information Explain from both points of view and apologize for the inconvenience Social media for us has turned in many ways into customer service, so I typically start my day at the office by checking the local news, and then our platforms to see if I missed any messages. We have many complaints about drivers, late buses and missing buses. We manage the complaints effectively by communicating with the other RFTA departments (Ops, IT etc) to uniformly and consistently respond to complaints. Sometimes buses are late or missing because of the weather or traffic. Sometimes our signage is malfunctioning. We encourage passengers to tell us what bus they are riding and what time of day, so we can talk to the driver.

Sometimes riders aren’t complaining but just have a simple question about the lost and found or a schedule. and then we direct people to the information they need -- either a telephone number or our website. Always, we respond to our customers by thanking them for their patience and apologizing for the inconvenience, and asking for contact information. We had a bridge repair last summer, the Grand Avenue Bride project or GAB. It was a huge opportunity for us to reach out to our constituents about the many changes to service and scheduling. We had new, temporary stops, and riders had to walk from one bus to another. Some riders connected 3-4 times to make it to work each day. It was a lot to ask from our riders, so on one route, we provided free service, and we also partnered with other groups to sometimes provide coffee and donuts (and other swag) for morning commuters.

PROMOTION OF LARGE EVENTS AND SCHEDULE CHANGES Much in our social media is the promotion of public transit as an alternative ride instead of driving. So, when large events are about to happen in our region we prepare by making a graphic or sharing a related picture, and depending on how big the route changes will be due to the event, we will put promotion money towards it for other media outreach besides social media. For the X games, for example, we hosted a Rider Appreciation Day at our transit station in Aspen, and handed out information about how service would be affected or how to get to the event. For our seasonal schedule changes -- that happen 5 times a year -- we post information about the schedules 2 weeks in advance, on social media and our website. We also create a graphic that explains when the change will happen. We also created all the new signage at the bus stations, and update the point of sale brochure information. Sometimes we invest in other media but it really depends on the number of changes on the routes that would affect many of our riders. Per example (next slide)

PROMOTION OF LARGE EVENTS AND SCHEDULE CHANGES The GAB project added and changed many summer routes, so besides social media, we developed an advertising campaign. During those three months, we added xxxx more riders to our already busy transit schedules during the GAB project. We also use social media to announce job openings, as well as in the local newspapers because they are the best ways to reach our customers.

Glamour Shots- Get out there and take pictures! WHAT ABOUT CONTENT!? Glamour Shots- Get out there and take pictures! Scroll for Hashtags on Instagram - After big events in town or use “local hashtags” to attract local audiences to follow your page = RFTA photobombs Caption Contests/Photo contests - Get people participating in your posts Memes- relate to your audience Special events photos - Make a presence! Throw back Thursdays - Fan Favorites Infographics - make information rider friendly! Rider campaigns - Drive less do More, Riding Tips, good commuter Riders Alerts - Have a graphic ready for editing and posting April Fools, Halloween posts - Have fun with your audience What you see is what you get, so the images we use on our social media are both pretty and real. I go out into the field and take photos of our buses in different places under different circumstances like a snowstorm, of leaf color change, or special event like Xgames. I also spend time scrolling through our Instagram account and making posts using local hashtags like Aspen, Snowmass, RoaringFork, Mt.Sopris.

WHAT ABOUT CONTENT!? We held a caption contest on both Facebook and Instagram recently that had a lot of play. We gave prizes to two winners from each social media. They were hats. Some of the other content we post has to do with our special events, fan favorites, rider campaigns and alerts, and others. Social media is meant to be fun, so creating memes is also a great way to attract followers.

WHAT ABOUT CONTENT!? Here are more examples.

WHAT ABOUT CONTENT!? And more examples.

WHAT ABOUT CONTENT!? Right now we have xxxx followers on Facebook, xxxx on Instagram, and xxxx on Twitter. The goals, again, of every social media campaign is outreach and buy-in. We want our riders to feel a connection to RFTA. Why do they love (or hate) riding the bus? How is it good; how can we improve? All of this information is important to providing excellent customer service.