Finding the right first response to all those scooters out there
Over the course of much of the past 50 years, days for millions of workers across the U.S. have looked like this: walk out of a (way too big) isolated suburban house, get in a (way too big) car, drive...
View ArticleUS language diversity is increasing, but transit agencies aren’t keeping up
Here’s a “duh” moment: the United States is incredibly diverse, with 13.5 percent of the population consisting of foreign-born immigrants as of 2016. The U.S. is also home to the largest diaspora...
View ArticleHow to convince people to bike more: show them this adorable video
We know that biking is awesome. People who commute to work by bike are generally healthier, happier, and save more money than the overall population. But communicating the benefits of biking –...
View ArticleCan Instagram influencers save public transportation?
Editor’s note: welcome to our new Friday Fun feature! Okay, you read the headline and you’re rolling your eyes. Fine. But before we get into why I believe that Instagram influencers can save the...
View ArticleThe best place for public transportation ads? Highway billboards
This article is adapted from a shorter op-ed in our latest Express newsletter. To Keep up with The Mobility Lab-ians, subscribe to the Express. Tying extreme weather events to climate change might be...
View ArticleHow to convince drivers that flying, autonomous cars won’t end traffic
Every holiday season, I travel to Chicago’s auto-dependent suburbs, where my relatives are fascinated by my transportation habits. From my traditional arrival by overnight train to my long walks to...
View ArticleJarrett Walker on why transit advocates should study literature
Credit: Jarrett Walker & Associates If you spend a lot of time in the transportation blogosphere, you probably know of Jarrett Walker, public transportation’s most eloquent advocate. But you might...
View ArticleIntroducing the astrological signs of commuting (without pseudoscience)
It’s a universal truth of marketing that not all people will be receptive to the same message. Just like how a speaker tailors their presentation depending on the audience, marketers change their...
View ArticleClimate change doesn’t stop people from driving alone. But behavior modeling...
Getting people to stop driving alone takes more than just building better infrastructure. When you wake up in the morning, you probably don’t assess every transportation option available to you. Many...
View ArticleHow a Portland university uses marketing to stop commuters from driving alone
Located on steep hills interrupted by a river, Oregon Health & Science University is a kind of American Shangri La, accessible by only two main roads. So if everybody drove alone to the campus, no...
View ArticleHow Germany standardizes signage and fare payment across separate transit...
The customer experience of transit starts before you ever board a bus, train, tram, or ferry. For transit to compete effectively with driving, it needs to be easy for a person to make the informed...
View ArticleTransit could learn how to do signage from restaurants
Have you ever wondered why transit signage is so boring and, well, standardized? Does it have to be that way? One thing transit should seek to do better is creativity, and signage presents a great...
View ArticleAustin’s transit marketing focused on “fun” trips instead of commuting (and...
It’s one thing to provide a new transit service, and another to get people to use it. Last year, Austin, Texas launched two express bus routes with a new marketing campaign. Starting in late 2016, the...
View ArticleTransit should go all in on marketing a subscription model
An ad for “comfort protection” when buying a car in India employs a celebrity to show just how pleasurable and hassle-free the experience of car ownership and mobility will be. Even more seductive, the...
View ArticleCan transportation demand management beat TV? Maybe with good marketing
Welcome to our 12 Days of Mobility series, which celebrates the launch of our Transportation Cost-Savings Calculator, a tool that measures the return of investment from transportation demand...
View ArticleConsistent branding can increase transit ridership
Some transit systems are iconic for their fonts. New York’s Helvetica, London’s Johnston – these fonts hold a special place in each city’s ethos. But they also exist for practicality: whenever you see...
View ArticleAmtrak’s advantage? Social connections made during rail trips
When one thinks of transportation from the nation’s capital to South Florida, Air Force One flights to Mar-a-Lago are probably the first thing that comes to mind. But a few weeks ago, I used a much...
View ArticleWe blame pedestrians for dying even when drivers are at fault
Let me paint you a picture of a hypothetical situation. I’m a large man – I’m over 6 feet tall, and nobody has ever mistaken me for a sprinter. Linebacker is a more apt comparison. So imagine that I’m...
View ArticleHow BART used social media to turn crisis into opportunity (and how WMATA...
March 16, 2016 was a very bad day for transit riders. Two major transit agencies – Washington DC’s WMATA and San Francisco’s BART – both stopped service. Unexplained voltage spikes on BART’s longest...
View ArticleStories from youth summit display a bright future for bicycling
This article was originally published at PeopleForBikes. Eight years ago, Pasqualina Azzarello attended the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., along with two interns from Recycle-A-Bicycle in...
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