Lane Transit District: Long Term Mobility Strategic Communications Plan

Abstract

Lane Transit District (LTD) is the leading public transportation service in the Eugene-Springfield area and has plans to significantly develop their operations by investing in solutions to drive more sustainable, equitable, and accessible transit over the next several years through their Long-Range Mobility Plan (LTD Connect 2045). To ensure that community members are engaged and involved in helping to shape opportunities and changes over the next twenty years, LTD partnered with the Public Relations Planning Process class. The class formed five working groups with the goal of producing a comprehensive strategic communications strategy that could identify pathways for community engagement to develop LTD Connect 2045.

Groups conducted extensive background research and gained a deeper understanding of LTD’s long term goals by meeting with LTD staff several times throughout the term. Through this process, students identified two major barriers for community members in accessing services: lack of awareness surrounding LTD services and negative stigma regarding safety and sanitation in public transportation.

Students proposed solutions that prioritized a community centered approach, leveraging community partnerships to dismantle negative stigmas that threaten the longevity of LTD. The two primary solutions were to gamify LTD services and implement educational outreach programming focused on reaching older adults, sorority members, University of Oregon (UO) first-year students, Lane Community College (LCC) and Bushnell University students, and high school students in Lane County. Each group created specific tactics and implementation strategies to implement prior to the launch and throughout development of LTD Connect 2045. By maintaining regular pathways for community engagement early on in this process, students sought to provide LTD with adaptable solutions that could be adjusted as operational changes are implemented. As these tactics develop, students aimed to create long-term relationships with community members and sustained support for public transportation.