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Gas prices drive more commuters to transit

New transit ad campaign aims to capitalize on price shock

Metro Transit is hoping to turn pain into gain.

Ridership on buses and trains is already higher than last year. In the first five months of 2006, customers took close to 1.2 million more rides than in the same period last year, up 4.1 percent.

This image is being used in Metro Transit’s current ad campaign. “OH.MY” may be one of the milder responses heard at gas pumps these days.

One significant contributor to increased ridership is the uptick in gas prices. According to AAA, prices are on average 75 cents higher than they were a year ago.

It’s a trend that Metro Transit hopes to get some mileage from. The agency launched an advertising campaign at the advent of the summer driving season to remind customers that transit is a less expensive alternative to driving.

Ads that feature a photo of a gas pump whose price window reads “OH.MY” instead of a dollar value have run in the region’s two daily newspapers. Thirty- and sixty-second radio ads include a man who buys a big-screen TV with his savings from putting his money into a farebox instead of a gas pump.

Another tactic hits consumers at the point of purchase. Starting in late June, customers at 37 gas stations will be able to read a Metro Transit ad atop the pump while they buy fuel. “There’s no better place to reach people who are frustrated by high gas prices,” said Maria Cone, market development supervisor at Metro Transit.

Other elements of the campaign include exterior bus advertising, posters at rail stations, ads on bus benches and banners on Metro Transit buildings as well as on metrotransit.org. Each ad directs potential customers to metrotransit.org or to call 1-800-NEW-RIDER, which connect the caller with specialized information for first-time transit users.