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Diverting Auto Users to Transit: Early Lessons From CTA's Orange Line
Click HERE for graphic. 1 ABSTRACT After only twelve months of operation, CTA's now Orange Line, providing rapid rail service from Chicago's Loop to Midway Airport, has reached a weekday ridership of 37,500 passengers. Preliminary analysis indicates that the Line has increased transit ridership overall in the Southwest Corridor by 31.0%, raising transit's mode share of work trips from 16.4% to 21.5%. Based on an onboard rider survey, more than one-quarter of daily boardings are now to transit, representing former automobile commuters or new trips for which auto was a candidate. Core, Secondary, and Tertiary market sub-areas are defined which together provide 84% of the Line's ridership. Demographic and travel characteristics of the transit riders surveyed are compared with comparable market area data from the 1990 Census. Survey data regarding the intensive marketing campaign that accompanied the Line's opening are analyzed. A separate analysis of diverted/new transit riders, compared to those who shifted from other transit services, is given. A series of guidelines are drawn for successfully inaugurating major transit service improvements designed to decrease reliance upon automobiles. INTRODUCTION The Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA's) new Orange Line --- the first entirely now rapid transit line in the Chicago area since 1969, when the Dan Ryan expressway median line opened---and the first rapid rail in the Southwest Corridor--connects the Loop to Midway Airport. It opened for service on October 31, 1993. Proponents, who fought long and hard for southwest side rail transit, said people would come out of their cars to use good, fast transit. Did that happen? The Environmental Impact Statement, completed in 1982, counted on those auto diversions "for the anticipated environmental benefits (l). lt was projected back then that a quarter of the riders would come from cars, generating less tailpipe emissions, lessening Chicago's ozone and carbon monoxide problems. Were they right?" These questions will be answered in this paper. It will also provide a profile of who is riding, at this early stage in what will be long years of rapid rail service on the southwest side. The Orange Line runs around the Chicago Loop, connecting with the Brown, Red, Blue, and Purple line trains, and soon the reborn Green Line. It travels 11.75 miles out to Midway Airport following freight rail rights-of-way, close to the population centers of the southwest side. The Line was built by the City of Chicago, as a new rail start funded in part by the U.S. DOT--completed within budget and on schedule. The map in Figure 1 shows the market area of Orange Line riders, as determined from a March, 1994 survey, using home zipcodes (2). The boundaries shown indicate the home location of 84% of weekday riders, in an area extending from Dearborn Park on the northeast through the southwest side neighborhoods of Chicago, out to Hickory Hills. Other suburbs in the market area include Burbank, Bedford Park, Bridgeview, Hometown, Justice, Merrionette Park, Oak Lawn, and Summit. Two sub-areas are also shown which depict the home location of 51% and 68% (51% plus another 17%) of Orange Line riders. Remaining trip origins are drawn from across the entire CTA service area, commuting to work trip destinations lying within the corridor, or for air travel. CTA received a two-year $1 million grant from the federal CMAQ Program to market the now Orange Line, serving 16 stops from the Loop to Midway Airport. Adequate marketing was deemed essential to attract projected now riders to transit, and to realize the promise of reduced air pollutant emissions. The CTA budget did not allow significant marketing expenditures; hence the grant was sought and received. -1- Click HERE for graphic. -2- CORRIDOR DEMOgraphic & WORK TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS: 1990 CENSUS To provide an understanding of the overall travel market in the Southwest Corridor, basic demographic and work travel characteristics from the 1990 census have been compiled. As indicated in Tables 1-3, these data have also been stratified by the three market sub-areas shown in Figure 1, as revealed by the March, 1994 transit rider survey, discussed further later. These commuter travel markets have been termed core, secondary, and tertiary markets, oriented primarily towards the work trip. The Southwest Corridor can be characterized as middle class, with median household income failing at $24,900, and a fairly even distribution of incomes across lower and middle income ranges. Household size averages 3.0, higher than the average for either Cook County or the City of Chicago as a whole (2.7). Auto ownership is relatively high. Half of Corridor residents are white, with significant Eastern European heritage; nearly 1/4 are Hispanic, 1/4 African-American. As indicated in Table 1, drive alone was the primary work trip mode in 1990, followed by relatively large (14.6%) usage of CTA buses. About 75% of this bus travel was via express routes using the Stevenson expressway into the Chicago Loop. Among the three commuter sub-markets, the level of bus (and carpool) usage was highest in the secondary market, and lowest in the tertiary market. Higher availability of and reliance upon the auto is thereby indicated for the latter, while transit access (prior to the Orange Line) was better for the former---also indicated by the 3.6% usage of other rapid transit lines. Multi-worker households form a significant component of the work force in the Southwest Corridor, with 53% of households containing two or more workers (Table 2). This factor may influence both the pre-Orange Line level of transit usage of (Table 1), as well as the level of additional transit ridership attracted by the Orange Line following its opening. Table 3 summarizes work trip travel times in the Corridor. There is relatively little difference among the three commuters sub-markets. TRANSIT RIDER DEMOgraphics AND TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS: 1994 SURVEY The March, 1994 survey of riders on CTA's Orange Line, though undertaken only 4 months after the opening of the line, gives a useful profile of the travel and demographic characteristics of now Southwest Side CTA rail passengers (3). An important feature of the survey was to learn more about those riders who formerly traveled by automobile. -3- TABLE 1. CORRIDOR TRAVELER WORK TRIP MODE: 1990 Mode Commuter Travel Market Core Secondary Tertiary Total Drove Alone 59.4% 44.4% 62.1% 57.5% Car Pool 16.1% 21/4% 15.2% 16.8% Bus 17.1% 20.0% 10.8% 14.6% Rapid Transit 0.9% 3.6% 1.8% 1.8% Metra 0.5% 1.2% 3.0% 1.9% Cycling 0.2% 0.3% 0.2% 0.2% Walk 4.2% 6.6% 4.9% 5.1% Taxi 0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% Other 0.5% 1.3% 0.5% 0.7% Worked at Home 0.9% 1.0% 1.3% 1.2% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% TABLE 2. CORRIDOR HOUSEHOLD WORKERS IN FAMILY: 1990 Workers in Household Commuter Travel Market Core Secondary Tertiary Total Zero 16.0% 22.3% 14.9% 17.0% 1 29.6% 32.4% 28.3% 29.7% 2 36.8% 29.6% 38.9% 36.0% 3+ 17.6% 15.7% 17.8% 17.3% Mean 1.56 15.7 1.60 1.54 -4- TABLE 3. CORRIDOR TRAVELER WORK TRIP TRAVEL TIME: 1990 Travel Time Commuter Travel Market (minutes) Core Secondary Tertiary Total Less than 10 7.1% 7.6% 9.8% 8.6% 10-14 9.8% 9.6% 10.9% 10.3% 15-19 11.4% 12.5% 12.9% 12.0% 20-24 13.7% 11.7% 11.9% 12.4% 25-29 5.3% 4.6% 4.8% 4.9% 30-34 17.2% 18.7% 16.5% 17.2% 35-39 3.3% 2.9% 3.2% 3.2% 40-44 4.8% 5.0% 4.6% 4.8% 45-59 12.8% 13.1% 11.9% 12.4% 60-89 11.3% 10.4% 10.2% 10.6% 90+ 2.3% 2.8% 2.7% 2.6% Worked at Home 1.0% 1.0% 1.3% 1.2% Mean 34.0 34.2 32.9 33.6 Survey Design While Origin-Destination (O-D) information was primarily desired for current and former auto users, and those making now trips, all riders were asked trip purpose, name of the street intersection and city of their trip's origin and destination, and mode of access to the Orange Line. Due to time constraints, only the "new rider" O-D information was coded and used in the trip length analysis. The survey also asked riders how they made the trip before the Orange Line opened, and where they had seen or heard about the line. Riders were also asked for standard demographic information: sex, zip code at home, ethnicity, age, household size, household vehicle availability, and income. Rider suggestions for improvements to the Line and respondent contact information were also requested. -5- Based on this survey of initial riders, the market area is larger than planners envisioned back in 1982, and as estimated from a more recent analysis of market potentials (4). There are patterns within the area: "Core" riders (51%) come from three zipcodes (60629, 32, 38) that encompass the Kedzie, Pulaski, and Midway stations and the area west and south of Midway Airport, beyond the rail line (see Figure 2). To cover two-thirds (67.8%) of the home locations, three additional zipcode areas (60608, 09, 52) --- the 'secondary' submarket --- must be added, covering the Western, 35th, and Ashland stations, and a neighborhood further south of the three core zipcodes. The last third of riders are spread out over a large area, and include out-of-towners using Midway Airport. Survey results are presented here in two ways. First, basic trip and demographic characteristics of all survey respondents are described. This includes trip purpose, mode of access, geographic distribution of riders, prior mode used, auto ownership, household income, and related characteristics. Second, many of these same characteristics for now riders --- not previous CTA bus or rail passengers --- are given, including trip length. Demographic Characteristics Tables 4 through 8 summarize the demographic characteristics of respondents, and compare Orange Line riders with the Corridor as a whole. 54% were female, while the age distribution of riders is primarily among the working age population, with 53% of all riders aged 18-34. Ethnicity/race generally reflected overall corridor characteristics: 61% of respondents were White, 22% Hispanic, and 13% African American. Just over one-third (36%) of respondents were from one- or two-person households, while another 40% were from three- or four- person households. The mean household size was 3.4 persons. Household incomes were fairly evenly distributed across the range shown in Table 7, with 9% under $ 10,000 and 16% over $60,000. The income levels of survey respondents were generally higher than the 1989 incomes reported in the 1990 Census, partly explained by inflation. Only 15% of households reported no autos available, with 37% one-car households and 33% two-car households (See Table 8). Auto ownership of CTA-rider households was significantly higher than that reported in the 1990 Census, where zero-auto households, in particular, fell at 25%. -6- Click HERE for graphic. -7- Travel Characteristics Trip Purpose Trips made on the Orange Line were most likely for work (60.6%) or school (13.6%), with 3.4% strictly for airline travel (See Table 9). Another 6.4% were workrelated trips. Only 2.2% were shopping trips, but 5.0% were social. Work was more dominant as a trip purpose than for CTA riders in general (44%) (5). Ridership is heaviest in the morning peak (6-10 A.M. for this survey). Riders were surveyed in proportion to boardings by time- of-day, using the hourly data from the now turnstiles at the branch stations, and annual observation of the Loop stations' diurnal patterns. Prior Travel Mode Nearly a quarter (23.7%) of all riders formerly drove all the way, got a ride, or just started traveling in the corridor (now residents or now workers at auto-owning households). The latter are assumed to represent potential automobile commuters, as a part of the total market share diverted from automobiles (See Table 10) Sixtyfive percent of all users formerly utilized the rather extensive diagonal bus service in the corridor, focused on radial service to the Chicago Downtown. A surprisingly large group (8%) used other CTA rapid transit lines, most likely the Red and Green Lines to the east. Very few had used the commuter rail network, Metra (2%), reflecting the low level of Metra service convenient to this corridor. This level of auto diversions, about 25% of line ridership, is consistent with the original ridership forecast of the 1982 Alternatives analysis, although the total ridership on the Orange Line currently falls short of opening day forecasts, by about 35%. This result in part reflects significant changes experienced nationwide in the ability of transit to compete with the automobile, over the last decade. Transit market share has steadily eroded, calculated against a base of increasing auto ownership and trip-making rates (6,7). Nevertheless, the Orange Line's October ridership levels of 37,500 daily rides represents a 43% gain over its first month, and compares quite favorably with other rail new starts across the country (8). -8- TABLE 4. CORRIDOR RESIDENT VS. TRANSIT RIDER AGE DISTRIBUTION Corridor Demographic Profile Age 1994 CTA Rider 1990 Census Survey Under-12 years 19.9% -- 12-17 8.9% 6.9% 18-24 11.2% 23.5% 25-34 17.7% 29.4% 35-44 12.9% 21.2% 45-64 16.9% 16.5% 65+ 12.4% 2.4% 100.0% 100.0% TABLE 5. CORRIDOR RESIDENT VS. TRANSIT RIDER ETHNICITY Corridor Demographic Profile Ethnicity 1994 CTA Rider 1990 Census Survey White 50.9% 60.8% Hispanic 23.2% 22.4% African- 23.7% 13.0% American Asian 2.0% 0.8% American Indian 0.2% 0.3% Other 0.1% 2.7% 100.0% 100.0% -9- TABLE 6. CORRIDOR TRAVELER VS. TRANSIT RIDER HOUSEHOLD SIZE Corridor Demographic Profile Persons Per Household 1994 CTA Rider 1990 Census Survey 1 24.0% 11.7% 2 25.0% 23.7% 3 16.8% 19.4% 4 14.9% 21.4% 5 9.8% 12.3% 6 4.9% 6.4% 7+ 4.6% 5.1% 100.0% 100.0% TABLE 7. CORRIDOR TRAVELER VS. TRANSIT RIDER HOUSEHOLD INCOME Corridor Demographic Profile Annual Household Income 1994 CTA Rider 1990 Census Survey Under $10,000 18.9% 9.1% $10,001-20,000 17.6% 13.0% $20,001-30,000 16.8% 17.2% $30,001-40,000 14.8% 19.9% $40,001-50,000 11.5% 14.3% $50,001-60,000 7.9% 12.0% Over $60,000 12.5% 15.5% 100.0% 100.0% -10- TABLE 8. CORRIDOR TRAVELER VS. TRANSIT RIDER VEHICLE AVAILABILITY Corridor Demographic Profile Vehicles Available in Household 1994 CTA Rider 1990 Census Survey Zero 25.4% 14.7% 1 38.8% 37.2% 2 26.4% 33.0% 3+ 9.4% 15.2% 100.0% 100.0% TABLE 9. TRANSIT RIDER TRIP PURPOSE: 1994 Commuter Travel Market Trip Purpose Core Secondary Tertiary Total Work 66.6% 58.8% 71.1% 60.6% School 12.8% 16.6% 15.4% 13.6% Work-Related 5.7% 4.4% 5.4% 6.4% Work, Multiple Response 3.1% 4.3% 0.0% 3.4% Airline Travel 0.1% 1.5% 6.5% 3.3% Shopping 2.4% 2.6% 1.6% 2.2% Social 4.9% 4.8% 1.9% 5.0% Other 4.0% 6.0% 3.4% 4.9% Non-Work, Multiple 0.4% 1.0% 0.7% 0.7% Response 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% -11- TABLE 10. PRIOR MODE USED BY TRANSIT RIDERS: 1994 Commuter Travel Market Prior Mode Core Secondary Tertiary Total Transit CTA Bus 75.2% 68.9% 50.4% 62.8% CTA Rapid Transit 4.8% 7.5% 13.7% 8.3% Metra 0.6% 2.2% 8.8% 2.3% Auto Drove All the Way 9.2% 11.3% 13.7% 11.4% Got a Ride 3.6% 4.4% 4.0% 4.7% Auto, Multiple 2.2% 1.1% 2.5% 1.9% Response 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.3% Taxi 2.4% 3.0% 5.5% 5.4% Just Started/New Other 2.0% 1.6% 1.4% 2.6% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% One of the primary variables influencing Orange Line success in attracting former automobile travelers lies in comparative travel times. As indicated in Table 11, the Orange Line provides significantly faster service, with reasonable waiting times, than predecessor express and local bus routes. In the A.M. peak it is 33-39% faster than equivalent express bus service, and 41% faster than local bus service. Under congested freeway operating conditions on the Stevenson expressway, the Orange Line travel time from Midway Airport is roughly equivalent to, or slightly better than, automobile freeway travel time to the Chicago Loop. These relative travel time gains were critical to the modal utility values employed in the ridership forecasting done in 1982 (1), and indicate that the service quality gains initially planned are being realized. Access Mode The most frequent mode of access to the Orange Line is bus at 41%, followed by walking (26%) (Table 12). A surprisingly high 13% park & ride (and 11 % kiss & ride), indicating many folks parking on neighborhood streets as well as in the Park & & Ride lots near several stations. Park & Ride lots at three of the last four stations along the line receive considerable use, particularly the last two at Midway and Pulaski stations (300 spaces each), which fill up early in the morning peak. Bus access includes both Pace and CTA bus routes, both of which have seen ridership growth concomitant with the Orange Line's growth (3). -12- Click HERE for graphic. -13- RIDERSHIP TRENDS Ridership started at 26,200 each weekday in November, 1993, and climbed to 37,500 by the end of October, 1994. As indicated above, that represents a 43% gain over eleven months, a rousing start for this now line. The upper line on Figure 3 shows total line boardings, at all 16 stations. The lower line shows boardings at the eight branch line stations only, excluding the CBD stations. (Note: The survey data on which this paper is based were collected in early March, when total ridership was 32,000 each weekday.) Boardings by station, shown in Figure 4, come directly from the new fare collection turnstiles, which send registrations by fare type to a central computer each day. The new registration equipment at the branch stations has eliminated manual data entry, a welcome improvement that speeds receipt of the counts by three weeks. Midway and Pulaski are the busiest branch stations, accounting for 50% of all branch station boardings. They see about 5-6,000 riders entering each day, with the Midway station alone typically at 28% or more of branch boardings. Click HERE for graphic. -14- Click HERE for graphic. -15- Click HERE for graphic. -16- Air Quality lmpact Based on the survey results reported earlier, in terms of prior mode utilized, comparisons were made against actual bus and rail ridership statistics for the corridor. The first two weeks of February 1993 and 1994 were selected as a baseline. Bus ridership on the ton diagonal routes serving the corridor fell 21,400 over those twelve months (from 45,900 on an average weekday to 23,800, then adjusted for an overall system ridership loss that was netted out). Figure 5 summarizes these prior mode percentages, applied to an Orange Line average weekday ridership of 30,300, for the first two weeks in February. Similar analyses were conducted for June and October 1994 (see Figure 5). The following assumptions were made: Metra/other ridership would hold at 1,600 daily weekday trips diverted; CTA rail ridership (other lines) diverted would increase slightly, from 2,600 to 2,800 weekday trips; and 1,700 "lost" bus trips, assumed reverting back to some form of auto travel, would decrease to 1,500. Five of the parallel diagonal bus routes were eliminated, leaving only five routes continuing to provide service, by October 1994. Based on these assumptions and bus service changes, Figure 5 indicates that auto diversions to the new Orange Line increased from 21.1 % in February to 28.3% in October 1994. In February these now transit riders represented a growth of 19.3 % in corridor transit trips, and by October this increase was 31.0%. This in turn represents an increase from an estimated 3.2% growth in CTA corridor market share, for transit work trips, in February (from 16.4% to 19.6%) to an estimated 5.1 % growth in CTA corridor market share by October (from 16.4% to 21.5%). Figure 6 summarizes the air quality improvement implications of these former auto travellers diverted to the Orange Line, for each of the three 1994 observation points. The number of auto vehicle-miles avoided due to the Orange Line capturing former (and potentially new) auto trips is indicated, based on a survey-derived 11.3 miles average origin to destination trip length. Trip distances for former auto trips were calculated using an algorithm relating O/D address locations to the grid street network, in the survey analysis. Figure 6 also indicates the number cold starts avoided, assuming one cold start for every auto trip diverted to transit (ignoring possible auto driver vs. passenger differences). Figure 6 also indicates an adjustment for not counter- balancing of air quality impacts, via consideration of auto access to transit, by either new or shifted Orange Line riders. In this calculation, any auto access to prior CTA service was ignored, thus assuming that all auto access trips are new, making a now impact, and not just a continuation of prior behavior by shifted riders. (For example, those who may have driven to access an Archer or Narragansett express bus are not considered. Had they -17- Click HERE for graphic. -18- Click HERE for graphic. -19- been, they would have lessened somewhat the amount of new auto access trips.) For simplicity, the March 1994 survey result of 13.0% of weekday boardings representing auto/park-ride (or kiss- ride) travelers was assumed to hold constant with ridership growth. In fact, limited parking supply at the outermost two stations, and the imposition of neighborhood parking restrictions near several stations, may indicate an over-estimate of this counter- balancing subtraction of auto access to transit vehicle miles and cold starts avoided. Estimated air quality improvements being achieved by October 1994 may be somewhat on the low side. A survey-derived average length of auto access trips of 4.0 miles was used in the calculations. Figure 6 indicates that by October 1995, a net impact of 5,700 average weekday cold starts, and 100,300 average weekday automobile vehicle-miles, were being avoided by the Orange Line. These significant impacts show a positive contribution to air quality in the service corridor. IMPORTANCE OF CONSISTENT SERVICE QUALITY AND EFFECTIVE MARKETING The significantly improved service quality offered by the Orange Line was the key factor in attracting both former bus riders (many of whom are required to make a transfer, as compared to their former 1-seat bus ride), as well as former automobile travelers. As a part of establishing a positive overall image for the Line, and building significant ridership from opening day, a major marketing campaign was deemed by CTA management as an essential undertaking (9, 10). While it is not possible to separately indicate that portion of additional ridership which could be directly attributed to marketing efforts, the rider survey also established clearly that CTA's marketing efforts reached most Orange Line riders, and helped contribute to their "conversion" to rail transit. Even before a marketing program was formulated, CTA Service Delivery staff conducted a series of community forums over the summer and early fall of 1993. The purpose of the forums, held in conjunction with local community organizations in the market area, was to alert residents to the forthcoming Line, outline its basic service features, and answer questions regarding changes in overall transit service. Of particular concern to many residents were proposed changes to the bus service to which they had become accustomed. In fact, for that portion of riders who still expressed preference for express bus service, explanations were necessary to carefully indicate the advantages (and disadvantages) of the now rail line. CTA's CMAQ-funded marketing campaign was one of the largest CTA has ever undertaken, using almost all paid media, and the Line's opening was well-reported on TV news. Most riders saw the paid promotions, about 4 in 5. The "free" -20- media---TV, radio, or printed news reports---were seen or heard by somewhat less than half of surveyed riders. And, most importantly, now riders saw the paid promotions---about three quarters identified a billboard, print or radio ad they had seen. Sources Of Riders' Information Orange Line riders were asked in the survey to indicate how they had seen or heard about the Orange Line, prior to riding it. Answers were grouped into three areas: advertising, news accounts, and other sources (see Table 13). CTA's advertising and promotional campaign clearly had major impact on Orange-Line riders, since 79% of them mentioned at least one of the different promotional efforts. Fewer than half of all riders mentioned news accounts (44%) or other sources, such as friends and family (49%). The single most successful method for reaching CTA riders regarding the Orange Line was carcards placed on CTA buses, noticed by 63% of Orange Line riders. This was followed by: ù similar advertisements at CTA train stations (43%) ù billboards along the Stevenson Expressway and elsewhere (43%) ù newspaper ads (43%) ù radio ads were heard by 32% of riders magazine ads read by 14%. New Rider Profile As a guide to future marketing efforts for the Orange Line, to be carried out in 1994-1995, further stratification of survey results for the 1/4 who were "new riders" was undertaken. The 23.7% of survey respondents who represented new riders differed from the remaining survey respondents in several ways: - Work and school were less significant as trip purposes, 77% versus 62% for shifted riders, while to/from a work-related activity or increased from 5% to 1 0%. Airline travel was also an important trip purpose for now riders, increasing to 9%, vs. 2% for shifted riders. -21- - Park & ride was more important as a mode of access for new riders, 25% versus 10% for shifted riders, while CTA or Pace bus access declined from 52% to 28%. Got-a-ride was at 14%, with walked 28%, compared to 10% and 26%, respectively, for shifted riders. - These results match expectations from the Midway Line Market Potential Survey of 1992 (4). In that survey non-transit users said they were more likely to access the line by auto. Nevertheless, over half of new transit riders used bus or walked to the Orange Line. - Drove all the way was the primary mode formerly used (52%), followed by got-a-ride at 22%, and just started making this trip since Orange Line opened at 25%. - Eighty percent of Orange Line riders who shifted from other transit services formerly rode buses, 11 % rode another CTA rail line, 3% took Metra, and 6% took other modes. - New riders were more likely male (56% vs 44% of shifted riders), while females declined correspondingly. - More Whites (68% vs 59%) and fewer Hispanics (14% vs 24%) were represented among new transit riders, as compared to shifted riders. - Auto ownership was somewhat higher for new users, from 55% classed as zero- or one-auto households down to 42%, and 41% up to 54% classed as two- or three-auto households---an interesting commentary on the increased attractiveness of rail over bus. - Combined household income was higher for new users---only 28% reported incomes under $30,000 (compared to 42% for other users), while 23% (vs 13%) reported incomes over $60,000. Sources Of Information For New Riders New transit riders, like riders shifted from other transit, learned of the new line from various promotional materials, rather than just observing the line's construction. Because transit ridership typically turns over 15-20% every 12-18 months or so, it is of value to know whether new trip-makers ("just started making this trip") learned about Orange Line service differently than those already traveling by auto, and who made the big change to rail transit. About 5% of all respondents are making a new trip in the corridor, but these riders represent about 1/5 of the overall market of now transit riders. - 22 - The single most successful method for reaching now CTA riders regarding the Orange Line was carcards placed on CTA buses, noticed by over half of Orange Line riders (see Tables 14 and 15). Presumably this occurred on prior (perhaps infrequent) CTA bus rides, different from the ride surveyed in March. This was similar for both former auto trips and new corridor trips. - Riders making new trips were less likely to have seen similar advertisements at CTA train stations, 20% vs 31% of former auto travelers. - Billboards along the Stevenson Expressway and elsewhere were seen by both former auto users (40%) and new corridor trips (36%). - Newspaper ads were seen by 38% of former auto travelers and 32% of new corridor trips. - Radio ads were heard by 35% of former auto users and 27% of new corridor trips. - Magazine ads were read by 16% of former auto travelers and a similar 15% of new corridor trips. TABLE 13. SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT ORANGE LINE Ads (79%) News Accounts (44%) Other Places (49%) 14% Magazines 29% Television 37% Friends 32 Radio 20 Radio 21 Family Members 43 Newspapers 25 Newspapers 22 Co-Workers 43 Billboards 6 Magazines 10 CTA Employees 63 CTA Buses 4 Other 43 CTA Train Stations NOTE: Respondents could mention more than one information source. The total percentage for each of the three categories is consequently higher than for any one of them, since multiple mentions were given. 1,858 respondents. -23- TABLE 14. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: DIVERTED FROM AUTO & NEW RIDERS Ads (74%) News Accounts (41 %) Other Places (53%) 16% Magazines 29% Television 40% Friends 35 Radio 20 Radio 20 Family Members 38 Newspapers 22 Newspapers 22 Co-Workers 40 Billboards 7 Magazines 9 CTA Employees 51 CTA Buses 5 Other 31 CTA Train Stations NOTE: Multiple responses allowed. 375 respondents. TABLE 15. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: NEW CORRIDOR TRIPS ONLY Ads (66%) News Accounts (30%) Other Places (48%) 15% Magazines 16% Television 37% Friends 27 Radio 14 Radio 18 Family Members 32 Newspapers 19 Newspapers 17 Co-Workers 36 Billboards 8 Magazines 8 CTA Employees 52 CTA Buses 5 Other 20 CTA Train Stations NOTE: Multiple responses allowed. 93 respondents. CONCLUSIONS: EARLY LESSONS LEARNED lmproved Service Levels - To achieve significant diversion of automobile users to transit, competitive travel times are essential---both in relation to conventional mixed traffic bus service (even if express) and automobile travel. - Even more important, perceived travel times must be regarded -24- favorably, particularly in terms of schedule reliability and- wait time, smooth, uninterrupted inter-station vehicle flow; and efficient passenger movements through stations. - New grade-separated and/or express transit service must get off to a good start --both in terms of press coverage and having all the operational bugs worked out prior to opening day. - Not only must a positive image be initially established, but good service must be maintained as a reliable, dependable feature--especially for new riders. - "Extra effort" should consequently be a major training theme for employees who inaugurate new service, as a part of building transit ridership habits on the part of the market served. Marketing and Community Outreach - Good paid promotional campaigns, using print media, billboards, radio, and in-vehicle advertising, can be very effective in reaching potential riders, and should be employed as a part of creative marketing campaigns. - Good press coverage, both up to, at, and after opening day, can also play a major, but not determining role in building a favorable image in the community for major transit improvement projects. Every effort should be made to establish strong relationship with the press as a part of inaugurating new service. - Pre-opening community forums, where transit agency representatives explain the features of major new service improvements---particularly in terms of the specifics on associated change in present service---can help increase rider awareness and acceptance on opening day. Attracting New Riders - Park & Ride facilities, particularly at outlying stations, must be large enough and convenient enough for a potentially sizable portion of new riders---in spite of air-quality- related cold start issues. - Park & Ride can be controversial as an access mode, not only because it compromises air quality gains achieved by the shift to transit, but because it can create neighborhood frictions when overflow demand -25- spills out onto local residential streets near rail stations, whose Park & Ride facilities may be too small or non-existent. - The most important promotional medium for reaching potential new riders---as well as achieving the shift from express bus to rail---was bus carcard advertising. Because of the extensive bus coverage in the Corridor prior to Orange Line trains, and in the Central Area, even occasional bus riders saw the ads. - Billboards, newspaper ads, and radio spots were also effective marketing tools, and should be coordinated in a common-theme, multimedia marketing program, targeted particularly at new riders. - For opening day, the basic Orange Line message was that "Rail Service is here". Successive marketing campaigns can target specific submarkets, with varied themes, based on research on the rail line's appeal. DGS-78d 12/30/94 -26- REFERENCES 1. Bureau of Transportation Planning and Programming. Alternatives Analysis/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Southwest Transit Corridor. City of Chicago, Department of Public Works, September 1982. 2. Market Research Department. Orange Line Travel Survey. PMR- x94035. Chicago Transit Authority, May 1994. 3. Sarah J. LaBelle. "CTA's Orange Line: A Preliminary Evaluation". Paper presented at the 1994 Chicago Metropolitan Conference on Public Transportation Research. University of Illinois at Chicago, June 1994. 4. Marketing Strategy & Planning, Inc. Midway Line Market Potential Survey. SP92-06. Chicago Transit Authority, June 1992. 5. Planning and Research Department. 1990 Traveler Behavior and Attitudes Survey. PR91-10. Chicago Transit Authority, September 1991. 6. Michael A. Rosetti and Barbara S. Eversole. Journey to Work Trends in the United States and Its Major Metropolitan Areas. National Transportation Systems Center, U.S. Department of Transportation, Cambridge MA, November 1993. 7. Alan E. Pisarski. New Perspectives in Commuting. Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, FWHA-PL-92-026, July 1992. 8. Transportation Research Board. Light Rail Transit: Planning, Design, and Operating Experience. Transportation Research Record 1361. 1992. 9. K.J. Flannelly, et.al. "Direct Comparison of Commuters lnterests in Using Different Modes of Transportation". Transportation Research Record 1321. Transportation Research Board, 1991. 10. Steven Silkunas, "Customer Satisfaction: The Next Frontier", Paper presented at Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 1993. DGS/mlh -27-
