Our mission:

1
Our mission
is to organize people with disabilities, seniors,
low-income citizens, and other concerned Texans
for equitable transportation through local and
statewide alliances.
2
State/Federal Alliance

• Reauthorization
• 5 million in JARC programs
• State and Local Media Campaigns
• Mandated Public Transportation Coordination
  (funding and services)
• Changed State DOT Rules
• More local funding flexibility
• More support for alternatives
• Specific policy improvements
• Gas Taxes paying for Public Transit (including
  Health/Humans Services)

3
Local Alliances
?Transit Campaigns ?Transit Planning ? Transit
Coordination ?MPO Certification ? Housing and
Urban Development ? Travel Training ? New Job
Access ?Pedestrian Audits ? Ambassador Program
4
Elections

• Imply a relationship of support for x issue or
  candidate.
• Too often a campaign is a blunt approach to a
  basic marketing objective.
• Campaigns should be about winning the hearts and
  minds of voters.
• How can we do a better job of building
  relationships of support?

5
A different way . . .
Three examples Austin, Lubbock, Tarrant Co.
of building a solid foundation on which campaigns
are a confirmation. Activities that create an
atmosphere for relationship building. Highlight
the key lessons learned.
6
Capital Metro - Community Connections

• Making amenities a community asset.
• Teaching agency staff a different way to related
  to customers and community.
• Building a can do image.

Staff Elected officials Users Community leaders
7
Capital Metro Investment as an Incentive

• Building strategic relationships early
• Building a winning team for commuter rail and
  economic development.
• Champions, Junkets, and a Challenge
• Regionalism

8
Lubbock

• CitiBus proposes cutting Saturday service and
  routes.
• Citizens get council to to reject the proposed
  changes now what?
• Understanding the challenges.
• Getting an ESPA/CTAA planning grant.
• Opportunity for stakeholders to learn.
• Process for articulating each interest.
• Time to build trust and empathy.

9
Richland Hills

• Richland Hills files for an election to decide
  if it will continue to have a .05 sales tax for
  transit.
• The-T provided a TRE station and per capita the
  highest level of transit services in the area.
• Why?
• Walmart moved to North Richland Hills!

10
Keys to HELPING your transit agency discover that
TRANSIT can be a COMMUNITY ASSET
Relationships are not built over
night Research Process is important Values
clear and direct actions Message and messenger
is important Closing the deal
11
Research

• Focus Groups
• Survey
• Intuition
• Talk to key people/communities/customers
• Listening sessions
• Dont forget to follow-up and measure!

12
Process

• Review operations, activities, investment that
  it already makes for innovations.
• Look for ways to improve customer/community
  involvement and their investment in the outcome.
• Look for give participants a sense of
  accomplishment and meaningfulness.
• Education, relationship building, image
  refinement can be second tier objectives.

13
Lead with values

• Good stewart of the public trust
• Customer service is our mission
• A reliable partner
• Humility
• Empathy
• Virtue is always bold Shakespear

14
Message

• Use research to develop strategy, message,
  targets then stick to the plan.
• The best message has substance supporting it.
• It takes time to help people understand,
  appreciate, feel good about, or want something.
• Connecting through existing trust relationships
  is a short cut to customers, neighborhoods,
  communities, and to voters.

15
Closing

• You can do all this awareness, education,
  relationship building and feel good stuff AND get
  nothing.
• The close, has to be part of the plan.
• In an election - ask for the vote.
• In relationship building ask for mutual
  respect.
• Converting respect to a yes, is much easier than
  converting unawareness into yes.

16
Conclusion

• May sound like a lot of work, BUT
• NGOs are uniquely qualified
• Agencies will pay a fair wage for these
  professional services
• The alternative losing an election is
  harder and more distasteful.