Rob provided an overview of the “Welcome Back Aboard” campaign that Burlington Transit will launch from July to the fall due to the significant decrease in ridership during the pandemic. The decrease in ridership was about 30-40% and mainly from GO transit commuters.
The marketing campaign will showcase Burlington Transit as a safe transit system and will include eight weeks of advertisements featuring cleaning procedures, masks and How2Ride. There will be ads in the Burlington Post, as well as digital ads through social media and the city's website, along with ads on destination signs.
Rob also advised that updates are being made to the transit schedule that will be marketed in August and September. On-demand transit, magnus cards and e-tickets will all roll out in September as well.
Questions:
- Would you please explain the cleaning process for the buses? Answer: The city buses were sprayed with Aegis Microbe Shield when the pandemic hit which provides several years of protection as it prohibits bacterial and viral growth. The buses were sprayed again with the same cleaning agent earlier this year.
- How was Handi-Van affected during the pandemic? Answer: Handi-Van never dropped below 60% ridership from pre-pandemic. Masks, face shields and gloves were provided to Handi-Van drivers and the number of passengers on board was limited during the pandemic.