MBTA uses ads, Dunkin’ gift cards to beg for riders back
Commuters pumping their gas, stuck in rushhour traffic, listening to the radio or reading this newspaper may have seen the T’s pleas: “Next time, take the T.”
“At the MBTA, we want people to Take the T. We’re reaching people on the radio before traffic reports, while sitting in highway traffic with billboards at key locations along our rail and bus system and now with gas prices at a sevenyear high, we are reaching potential riders when they open their wallet at the gas pump,” a slide deck on the T’s ad campaign obtained by the Herald said.
With ridership down across the MBTA’S modes of transportation and traffic creeping up to pre-pandemic levels, the T is taking aggressive measures to lure folks back. An MBTA spokesperson said that, at the end of October, bus ridership was down to 59% of pre-pandemic levels, subway ridership 44%, and the Commuter Rail was 42% of pre-pandemic ridership.
The in-house campaign, which cost about $69,000 in radio and gas pump ads and an additional $14,470 for ads in the city’s two newspapers, is slated to run through the end of the month. It uses several mediums to attract riders, including Mbta-owned billboards plastered with images of gridlocked cars with messages like, “Bottlenecks. Take the T” and “You could be reading something interesting. Next time take the T.”
The MBTA bought radio ads on radio stations including Kiss 108 and WBZ featuring information about the T’s new flexible Commuter Rail passes. Social media campaigns by the agency and in-station ads emphasize the cleanliness of public transportation, with messages such as “In buses and subways, we refresh the air every 60 seconds,” and reminders that the HVAC units in subways filter more air than most offices.
Fifteen-second gas pump ads airing throughout eastern Massachusetts tell drivers that “The fastest route to work is often not on a map,” and to take the T instead.
The hottest enticement was a mask and $5 Dunkin’ gift card giveaway on Oct. 18 at 13 Blue, Red, Orange and Green Line stations including Maverick, North Station, Kenmore and South Station, where MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak and MASSDOT Secretary Jamey Tesler handed out the goodies. An MBTA spokesperson said the Dunkin’ giveaway came at no cost to the T.
In an MBTA Board of Directors meeting last month, Poftak said the organization is also conducting outreach to large area employers, offering them toolkits and videos to emphasize the T’s cleanliness, safety and high onboard mask compliance.
Paul Diego Craney, a conservative watchdog at the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, knocked the campaign, calling it “rhetoric” that “will most likely not result in any additional riders using taxpayer dollars.”
Transit advocates, however, praised the campaign. “The T needs to get ridership back,” said Brian Kane, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board.
“If it doesn’t, we’re looking at major service cuts.”
“We think that they’re really on the right track, no pun intended,” said Rick Dimino, president and CEO of A Better City, which called on the MBTA to do an ad campaign earlier this year.
Dimino added that he’s working with the MBTA to understand commuters’ wishes. Through surveys, his team has found that riders are also looking for incentives such as discounted fares and parking and more flexible fares.
The biggest potential driver back to the Commuter Rail, Jarred Johnson of Transitmatters said, is cheaper rides — at least $4 less than they are now at over $13 in some places. “That is not an insignificant part of why Commuter Rail ridership is lagging,” he said. “They need to get less expensive than driving. Full stop.”