1. Innovative Approaches to Public Involvement Pauletta Tonilas Regional Transportation District Senior Manager of Public Relations
February 24, 2014

2. RTD FasTracks Program 1 rail line open 5 rail lines in construction
1 bus rapid transit (BRT) line in construction
Denver Union Station redevelopment in construction

3. Public Information/Involvement Program
Multi-faceted PI program
Public meetings
blasts
Website
Social media
Informational materials
Special events
Public opinion surveys
Newsletters
Videos
Telephone Town Hall Meetings

4. Former Director Newsletters
Previous way to connect with the public
15 quarterly Director newsletters
Major time investment
100 staff hours per issue
Little ROI
Time to try something new!

5. Telephone Town Hall Meetings
Large conference call; live radio show
Moderator facilitates meeting
Calls pushed out to thousands of numbers
Call-in number available
Keypad polling with immediate results
Screened caller questions
Opportunity to inform, educate and get input 5

6. Telephone Town Halls vs. Newsletters
15 Director Newsletters
450,000 touches
6,500 touches
74,000 participants
1,300 opens
.12 per contact
$1.03 per contact
.73 per participant
$5.17 per open

7. Mobility Study Public Involvement
Tested town hall meetings in lieu of public meetings
Two town hall meetings held
10,500 participants
Received input on:
What’s important when riding transit
How they’d like to get information about the study

8. Meeting Control Panel

9. Post-Meeting Reports

10. Tele Town Hall Lessons Learned
Keep recorded messages short
Provide script for participants, but don’t over-script everyone
Encourage dialogue and interaction among participants
Provide staff support during meetings, but don’t over-staff
Have info resources on hand during meetings for reference
Prepare questions and key messages for filler
Check and double-check call-in number and ID code
Hold a briefing to run through format and share tips
Provide food and beverages
Check voice mail box and respond to questions/comments in a timely manner

11. Flyover Video Maps

12. Videos
Annual videos
Time lapse videos
Smart phone videos

13. Thank you! 13