You know those over-the-top ASPCA commercials with harrowing pictures of abused dogs and cats shown with maudlin music playing in the background and impassioned pleas to contribute? If your family is anything like mine, you tune them out—and we are an animal-loving family.
With our “Spread the Transit Love” campaign, we set out to highlight the great work happening behind the scenes at transit agencies across the country. As we studied the responses, not only did we find acts of selflessness at each agency, but consistent themes began to emerge.
After studying hundreds of companies to identify how “good” companies became “great” companies, outperforming the competition, best-selling author Jim Collins (Good to Great book) and his team set out to discover what “great” companies do differently.
I grew up in New York City in the 1970s and fell in love with the iconic Massimo Vignelli subway map before I knew it was iconic (or even knew what iconic meant). I was unaware that it was the work of a divaesque Italian designer or that the map was transformative in how it represented my city.
When the U.S. began to comprehend the severity of the pandemic back in March and governors across the country began issuing stay at home orders, life and the economy came to a grinding halt. Riders were encouraged, for perhaps the first time in history, not to ride transit in an effort to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. Ridership in cities around the country plunged. Consequently service and frequencies were reduced to bare minimum levels for systems of all sizes.
According to the Federal Transit Administration, Colorado provides twice the totals for rural transit systems than second place Michigan and third-place California. Forward-thinking Colorado communities, supported by innovative transit managers, dedicated drivers and passionate transit staff are constantly evolving and improving their systems for seamless travel to Colorado’s awe-inspiring destinations. Providing for rapidly growing populations and all-season tourism, rural systems around the state continue to work tirelessly to build mobility options and drive local economies.
