Partners in Transportation December 2008 Stamford Business Outreach Final Report Contact: Bud Titsworth 2Plus, Inc. 5 Tower Ridge Westport, CT 06880 203.222.7001 [email protected] Presented to CONNDOT Stamford Business Final Report Table of contents Title Page 1 Table of Contents 2 Campaign Description/Objectives/Goals/Methodology 3 Results Summary 5 Findings 6 Observations 9 Conclusions 11 Opportunities 13 Appendices 14 A. Discussion Guide 14 B. Project Team 18 C. 2Plus State Fiscal Year 2008 Workplan 19 D. General Area and Targeted Businesses 20 E. Weekly Progress Reports 70 F. ConnDOT-Sponsored Services & Links 75 G. Meeting Report 76 H. Follow-up Report 77 December 2008 Page 2 Stamford Business Final Report Campaign Description/Objectives/Goals PROJECT DESCRIPTION The 2008 Stamford marketing campaign was designed to promote Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) Commuter Services and to provide assistance to employers not currently engaged with other transportation programs or offices. Coordinated by the South Western Regional Planning Agency, the campaign included direct telephone contact using a discussion guide (Appendix A). The campaign was implemented by a team consisting of ConnDOT, and ConnDOT Commuter Services representatives from MetroPool, Rideworks, CT Transit, and 2Plus (Appendix B). The campaign ran from mid-August to mid-September 2008. Unlike traditional media/direct mail outreach efforts, this program is uniquely interactive -- engaging employers in a personal dialogue with ConnDOT Commuter Services representatives leading to an ongoing relationship for information exchange, needs assessment, and ConnDOT-sponsored commuter programs customized for the individual employer. The campaign was budgeted at $40,000. Funding was included in the 2008 Statewide Ridesharing Project (# 0170-2709; see Work plan Appendix C). The campaign’s target group included 1,930 businesses in Stamford. See Appendix D for businesses mapped by size and relation to transit routes. OBJECTIVES Objectives of this project were to: • Inform employers about available ConnDOT transit & ridesharing options • Deliver ConnDOT transit & ridesharing information to employers • Promote ConnDOT Commuter Services programs with emphasis on assistance to employers in commuter trip planning. GOALS Goals of the project were to: • Assess area business transportation needs • Gauge awareness of ConnDOT-sponsored ridesharing services • Measure interest in employer promotion of carpool, vanpool, bus, rail, telecommuting, and tax benefit commuting options December 2008 Page 3 Stamford Business Final Report • Identify at least 200 businesses interested in ConnDOT-sponsored alternative commute modes • Document and evaluate the program METHODOLOGY • 2 Plus purchased a list of 2,665 contacts in the Stamford area from infoUSA. The list was weeded down after omitting auto dealers, restaurants, churches, movie theaters, government offices, cab and limousine services, real estate offices, and the like who have previously been found to be unproductive when promoting ridesharing. • SWRPA plotted the contacts on a map by size, reviewed the proposed contact list and eliminated inappropriate contacts and added others based upon SIC code, size, location and local knowledge. • MetroPool reviewed the list and provided input. • The updated list was approved by ConnDOT, with 1,930 of the original 2,665 contacts remaining. • After discussions with ConnDOT and CT Transit, SWRPA and 2Plus agreed that the callers would benefit from knowing the CT Transit routes that served each specific employer to be called. • SWRPA provided the base maps originally obtained from CT Transit. • 2Plus imported the maps into its GIS system and plotted the 1,930 potential business contacts. • To assist 2Plus contact staff, CT Transit routes within ¼ mile of each contact were identified to enable callers to advise the contact of available CT Transit bus service. December 2008 Page 4 Stamford Business Final Report Results Summary BUSINESS NEEDS ASSESSMENT/INTEREST Over half of the businesses completing specific questions reported being interested in information about ConnDOT’s commuting services for their employees. Interest levels varied but were high for specific individual services. The highest interest level was in promoting shuttle service from the train stations, followed by the commuter tax benefit, bus, rail, vanpool, carpool, and telecommute information. Interest varied from 69% for shuttles to 26% for telecommuting. AWARENESS OF CONNDOT RIDESHARING SERVICES Awareness of ConnDOT services also varied widely. Awareness levels ranged from a high of 97% for Metro North/New Haven line to 17% for NuRide and Telecommute Connecticut. DOCUMENT AND EVALUATE THE PROGRAM This report summarizes the Stamford campaign findings, offers an analysis and discussion of the effort, and presents conclusions and recommendations. Appendices provide the project team participants; related scope-work plan; area maps of businesses by size in relation to transit service; list of businesses contacted; relevant ConnDOT services & links; contact referrals; and the telephone meeting feedback form. December 2008 Page 5 Stamford Business Final Report Findings EMPLOYER CONTACTS • Attempts to contact all 1,930 employers were made (see Appendix E). Each respondent was contacted up to a maximum of four times, or until a contact and meeting/interview could be completed. • Interviews were completed with 445 businesses (23%). The remaining 1,485 were either not interested, had inoperable numbers, or could not be reached within the campaign timeline. • 259 businesses (58%) were interested in ConnDOT-sponsored ridesharing services. • The 259 interested businesses exceeded the campaign goal by 30%. • The 259 businesses represent nearly 11,500 total employees or 9% of the employees in the contact area. EMPLOYER AWARENESS • 97% Metro-North/New Haven line • 89% CT Transit • 42% Easy Street • 24% Commuter Tax Benefit • 17% NuRide • 17% Telecommute Connecticut EMPLOYER INTEREST • Areas of interest included: o Promoting shuttle service to train (69%) o Commuter Tax Benefit (53%) o Bus (40%) o Vanpool (39%) o Rail (39%) o Carpool (36%) o Telecommute (26%) The campaign generated 1,237 individual requests for more information on ConnDOT- sponsored ridesharing services, with an average of 4.8 requests per company. The interest is as follows: • Ridematch 41 • Commuter rail 173 • Bus 178 • Vanpool 170 • Carpool 160 • Telecommute 114 December 2008 Page 6 Stamford Business Final Report • Deduct-A-Ride 235 • Commuter van shuttles 166 As this outreach process ended only one month ago, follow-up among ConnDOT sponsored commuter service providers is still ongoing. PRELIMINARY FOLLOW-UP FROM METROPOOL MetroPool was assigned the responsibility for fulfillment of low interest telecommuting, medium interest telecommuting, ridematching, rail, bus, vanpool, carpool, Deduct-A-Ride, and commuter van shuttles leads. MetroPool initially received interest in various transportation services from 259 distinct companies. Preliminary results are as follows: • 22 new companies promoting ConnDOT sponsored transportation services • 19 new companies promoting ConnDOT sponsored transportation options literature • 25 new information kiosks established • 24 on-site visits for detailed presentation of ConnDOT sponsored transportation services • 21 companies currently promoting ConnDOT sponsored transportation services • 34 bike riders identified • 1,024 bus riders identified • 389 carpoolers identified • 126 persons working a compressed work week identified • 16 persons riding private shuttles identified • 2 private shuttles identified • 243 telecommuters identified • 603 train riders identified • 234 walkers identified PRELIMINARY FOLLOW-UP FROM 2PLUS 2Plus was assigned responsibility for fulfillment of high interest vanpool leads. Preliminary results on the 36 leads received are as follows: • 36 employers were phoned, e-mailed, and mailed with requested information on vanpools. • Five meetings were held. • Two presentations were conducted. • Four Easy Street Rider Reservation forms were received. • Follow-up is on-going. December 2008 Page 7 Stamford Business Final Report PRELIMINARY FOLLOW-UP FROM RIDEWORKS Rideworks was assigned the responsibility for fulfillment of high interest telecommuting leads. Rideworks initially received eight high interest telecommute leads from this outreach process. Preliminary results are as follows: • Eight (8) companies were phoned, emailed, and mailed information about telecommuting. • Follow-up is ongoing. December 2008 Page 8 Stamford Business Final Report Observations The following section provides team members’ observations (in random order) on issues raised in pre-implementation discussions and during the campaign itself: • Employers expressed no concerns/complaints about receiving multiple calls from separate ConnDOT Commuter Services representatives. • There was a modest level of response to voicemail messages left from initial calls, indicating employer interest in learning about transportation solutions for their employees. This further confirms that while interest does exist, active outreach efforts are necessary to reach otherwise busy employers. • Follow-ups by ConnDOT Commuter Services representatives should be more than just leaving voicemail messages – personal contact should be made to build and reinforce positive relationships. • Determination of interest level (high-medium-low) should be made by the