How Can a City Promote the Use of Public Transportation?

¶ … City Promote the Use of Public Transportation?

The Best Way for a City to Promote Public Transportation

Cities can promote public transportation in many ways. However, many cities fail to do so. They put public transportation options on the "back burner" so to speak, or they make the assumption that people will use public transportation only if they want to, and it does not need to be promoted. This is far from the truth. Many people may not know about transportation options in their city, and they may not realize how beneficial these options can be (Barletta, et al., 2008). There is an assumption by many people that public transportation is dirty and smelly, or that only lower income people use it (Achs, 1991). In the vast majority of cities, all kinds of people use public transportation (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). In fact, in a number of major American cities, quite a few people do not even own cars. They do not need them, because they can get anywhere they need to go using the public transportation options available.

This can make their lives easier and less complicated, and can also help them eliminate the expenses that would come with having a car (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). For cities that want to promote their public transportation a marketing campaign may actually be needed, but the city must be sure to use that campaign in the proper way. If this is not done correctly, a great deal of money will be spent on something that will not actually work and provide the desired outcome. In short, a city that wants to promote the use of public transportation has to do so in such a way that people who would normally drive their cars feel that using public transit is going to benefit them in some way.

Significance of the Problem

The problem of people not using public transportation is very significant. A huge number of vehicles are clogging up the roadways in the United States and in many other countries, as well (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). This is not only an issue when it comes to commute times, but it also puts people at a bigger risk of an accident that could result in serious injury or even death (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). Because that is a concern for numerous people, public transportation could be the answer to the problem (Achs, 1991). Another significant issue when considering public transportation and the problem of getting more people to use it comes from the pollution that is affecting the planet (Barletta, et al., 2008). The number of cars and trucks on the roads each day could be greatly reduced if a larger number of people took buses and commuter trains to work, school, and other activities (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). By doing this, the carbon emissions going into the air, especially in large cities, could be greatly reduced and the people in those cities would get healthier air to breathe.

Recommendations to Solve the Problem

Solving this problem does not have to be complicated, but it will take some work. Cities that want to convince people to use public transportation have to make that usage seem attractive. People need to know why they should change their habits and do something differently, and the reasons to do so have to be compelling to them or they are not going to make any changes to their current routine (Barletta, et al., 2008; Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). That is something to carefully consider for any city that is working to come up with a way to encourage people to use public transportation instead of driving their own vehicles. First of all, public transportation has to be easily accessible (Newman & Kenworthy, 1999). If it is difficult to get to or does not take them to where they want to go in the city, there is little to no point in using it. People will quickly get frustrated at that point, and will just resume driving their car to get where they want to go.

The bus or train that people are being encouraged to use also has to be clean and safe (Achs, 1991). If those two things are not provided, many people will opt out of using public transportation because they feel as though they might get sick or because they feel like they could be the victim of crime. While it is true that crime can happen anywhere, some people are more likely to be targeted than others. That is also true for areas of the city and times of the day. For example, it would be a bad choice for a young woman traveling alone to get off the bus late at night in a part of town that is not considered very good. While those kinds of scenarios sometimes cannot be avoided, it is generally possible for the majority of people to avoid these types of issues. Cities that really want people to use public transportation must be careful of their drop off times and locations.

If they are not careful, they could end up with a bad reputation because of danger or illness, and that could cause more people to avoid them, even if those same people had been considering public transportation up until that point in time. Unfortunately, this is a double edged sword in many cases. Public transportation needs to be very safe, but at the same time it also needs to travel to where people want to go, when they want to go there. Sometimes, it is very difficult to reconcile those two things in such a way that works for everyone involved. The main goal should be safety, though, even if it means that public transportation will lose a few customers who would have otherwise traveled on it. This is something the city must weigh carefully before making a decision.

Another recommendation when it comes to getting people to use public transportation is to appeal to their sense of savings (Barletta, et al., 2008). In other words, most people like to save money. They can often do that with public transportation vs. having a car of their own. Persuading people to give up their cars can be difficult, though, so the city really needs to focus more on why it is worth the cost to use public transportation in addition to still keeping a car. By providing passes for buses and trains at discounted rates, the city will be able to show people that it does not cost that much to use public transit. It is only when people see that this option is going to save them money, and that it is clean, safe, and convenient, that they will consider switching. If the city is effective in showing those things to consumers, there will be a much larger likelihood of seeing public transportation usage increase.