MetroRiderLA

Ahh, the audacity of hope… for a car-free future.

Last week, Metro released to the public their Draft Long Range Transportation Plan. The LRTP is a document that looks to assess and address the transportation needs of the Los Angeles area for the next 25 years.  A quarter of a century is a pretty big number, it’s hard to say if I’ll still be blogging when I’m 52, but if I am I’ll be able to link back to this post and review how the plan was implemented.

The next 40 days are crucial for the next 25 years, since Metro is allowing public comment on their plan until April 25th.   In order to encourage people to get involved, Metro has launched the Barrack Obama inspired “Imagine” campaign, in which Metro asks people to imagine a better future.  Yes we can!

The Imagine campaign may be Metro’s best marketing campaign yet.  It’s certainly the most complete.  The LRTP document[PDF] itself is beautifully designed, with inspiring photography that spans pages and equally inspiring copy.  The website is bold, colorful, easy to navigate, and interactive.  There’s even what I believe to be a Metro first… a blog! The blog even accepts comments.  There’s also a full on advertising assault, with billboards and posters promoting the Imagine campaign popping up all over the city.

Such audacity!

Join the conversation about the Long Range Transportation Plan in the new MetroRiderLA Forum.

Who will win, Metro’s Miss Traffic or Capital Metro’s i-Ride?

Cue the Rocky theme song, because today ladies and gentlemen, we here at MetroRiderLA are bringing you ringside to the transit fight of the season….

In one corner we have the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, better known as Metro. Metro is a heavyweight in the transit world, holding the record for third largest transit agency in the country. Metro has a daily ridership of 1.6 million people, 191 bus routes covering 1,433 square miles, 5 rail lines (3 light rail and 2 subway) with 73 miles of track, and was voted “America’s Best” in 2006 by the American Public Transit Association. In addition, Metro has made numerous television and film appearances. Metro is the very definition of a contender.

In the other corner we have the Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority, also known as Capital Metro. This bantamweight from Austin, TX is scrappy in every sense of the word. With only 68 bus routes, no rail (a commuter line is scheduled to open this year), and a ridership of 130,000, Capital Metro is a David to Metro’s Goliath. Sure Capital Metro offers dirt cheap fares (50 cents is the most you’ll pay), interactive Google based bus maps, HTML formated schedules, and Wi-Fi access for passengers, but does that stuff even matter?

What’s brought these two clearly unbalanced fighters here today is the marketing contests both agencies are currently promoting. Metro will henceforth be represented by Miss Traffic and Capital Metro will be reprsented by i-Ride. Miss Traffic and i-Ride are both contests that attempt to get people excited about transit by telling stories about why they ride. This fight is over which contest is better.

Let’s get ready to rumble!!!

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