Spokane – Last year Spokane Transit launched a new campaign slogan: “How a great city moves.” To say things have moved along since then is an understatement. Not only was the slogan expressed in all of STA’s messaging, but it has helped drive the transit authority’s efforts to stimulate the region’s economic vitality and quality of life for years to come.

As new restaurants, communities and businesses spring up in our metropolitan area, STA enlisted BHW1, the creators of “How a great city moves,” to communicate how its initiatives stimulate economic progress in smart, sustainable ways.

With a two-prong strategic approach spanning 18-months, BHW1 kicked off the campaign by detailing recent service enhancements such as the introduction of wi-fi access on buses, extended service hours and a north express shuttle with direct service to the downtown core. The campaign was then followed by rider testimonials sharing the many ways STA positively impacted their personal and professional lives.

“The strategy was to first educate STA’s many new enhancements. We then reported how the enhancements were received by riders,” said Cat Hannity, Senior Account Manager for Spokane Transit.  We knew we could help increase ridership and public support.  But we never dreamed of attaining record ridership numbers in such a short amount of time.”

How much did ridership increase? As of today it’s surpassing the national average of a 3% increase over a 12-month period, increasing by 24% over the last 4-years and reaching 1 million rides in a single month during April, 2008.