EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRANSIT SECURITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: MTI 09 19

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Jennifer Chambers
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1 EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRANSIT SECURITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: MTI Authors: Nina Rohlich, MSTM; Peter J. Haas, Ph.D.; Frances L. Edwards, Ph.D. Mineta Transportation Institute

2 Introduction: Public involvement in alerting officials to suspicious and potentially harmful activity is critical to the overall security of a transit system. As part of an effort to get passengers and the public involved, many transit agencies have created security awareness campaigns. The objectives of this research project were to: (1) Determine how transit agencies seek to make security awareness campaigns effective. (2) Explore ways in which to measure the effectiveness of such campaigns. For a select group of transit agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area region of California, this project focused on understanding: The types of security awareness campaigns that agencies have implemented, The goals of the campaigns, and Whether the agencies are achieving those goals. In other words, have campaigns increased security awareness and passenger engagement? If so, how do agencies evaluate the effectiveness of the campaigns?

3 Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans/Caltrain) Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (Capitol Corridor) Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Research Methods This research focuses on five agencies that provide rail or a combination of light rail, bus, and ferry transit service in the San Francisco Bay Area region. Case study information was primarily gathered through interviews with Bay Area transit agency representatives in charge of passenger communications, such as the Public Information Officer or marketing and communications manager. The interview questions focused on gathering information on the types of campaigns conducted by the transit agency and how they evaluate and measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Questions were categorized in such a way as to understand input and output measures. Agencies were asked whether they have data that demonstrate the effectiveness of their security campaign to allow for further analysis of outcome measurements.

4 Summary Data for Transit Agency Common Campaign Goals Increase Awareness Provide Tools for Action Encourage Involvement and Alertness Give Permission to Contact (Make them feel comfortable about reporting.) Don t Frighten Passengers Types of Media Used Train and bus cards/posters Audio and visual announcements on station platforms Flyers/Newsletters Security/safety specific section on website Transit system guides Security Campaigns

5 Outcome Indicators & Possible Measurements for Security Campaigns Common Goals Increase Awareness Provide Tools for Action Goal Achieved If/Campaign Effective If Passengers have seen the messages Passengers understand the messages Increased reports of security issues to security staff, station agents, or other transit employees Passengers follow the directions correctly Ways to Measure Output Measure: Level and Types of Media: Number and Distribution of Posters, Car Cards Frequency of Audio Announcements Website Information Educational Video Outcome Measure: Passenger Survey Track website page counts and videos viewed Add a security reporting category to dispatch center data collection Outcome Measure: Track Number of Security Reports Analyze Security Reports Encourage Involvement and Alertness Increased passenger engagement/ involvement in the system. Increased interaction between passengers and transit personnel. Outcome Measure: Track Number of customer calls, comments, feedback about any issue in o Customer Service o Dispatch Center o Police Field Interview cards

6 Best Practices for Making Campaigns Effective: Emulate Existing Campaigns Use Multiple Forms of Media Use Consistent Branding and Messaging Use Simple, Actionable Messages (But Do Not Frighten Passengers) Recommended Practices for Measuring Effectiveness: Calculate the Level of Marketing Effort (Output Measure) Use Tracking Methods Already in Place and Analyze Indicators (Outcome Measure) Use Easy to Track Indicators (Outcome Measure) Survey Passengers (Outcome Measure) To capture the public s response to a campaign, agencies should implement a combination of output and outcome measurements

7 Potential for Future Development of Campaigns 1. Collect data on customer impact. Without some justification such programs can become targets for budget cuts. 2. Develop apps for mobile devices such as smart phones that would provide guidance on what to do when you see a suspicious device or activities. Dispatchers or IT systems could determine whether the call came from a device with the app or whether it was dialed. The app could be emergency and include an option to contact

8 Speaker Contact Information Frannie Edwards, Deputy Director, NTSCOE Mineta Transportation Institute Report

How To Measure The Effectiveness Of A Transit Security Awareness Campaign

How To Measure The Effectiveness Of A Transit Security Awareness Campaign Exploring the Effectiveness of Transit Security Awareness Campaigns in the San Francisco Bay Area MTI Report 09-19 MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface