Landmark SRBI Study Seeks to Boost Public Transit Use and Support

With Americans grappling with high energy prices and worries over greenhouse-gas emitting fossil fuels, SRBI's Transportation Research Group has been working with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to find actionable ways to increase public transit usage and support by improving consumer messaging and communications.

To accomplish this mission, SRBI assembled a team of planning and transit public relations experts that examined both American and Canadian transit attitudes, behaviors and lifestyle through the use of qualitative in-depth and quantitative phone interviews. Data was analyzed using a myriad of techniques including factor, segmentation and PATH analysis.

The study also incorporated an extensive literature review of best practices in the consumer-goods and social marketing fields. The final product, soon to be published, provided actionable insight into potential messages which can be used to promote support.

SRBI has also teamed with transit modelers to examine price elasticity, mode choice, and interest in specific amenities by employing conjoint and trade-off analysis.

SRBI's Transportation Research Group, headed by Dr. Mindy Rhindress, an SRBI Senior Vice President, has been in the forefront of custom research and strategy solutions for local and national transit providers, engineering firms, urban planners, and academic institutions. Projects for public transit clients include customer satisfaction, image tracking, fare media development, facility and service evaluations, and market positioning.