BACKGROUND

Modern marketing and customer communication in the transit environment can involve a variety of marketing channels, branding (logos and design standards), onboard and external signage and kiosks, promotional items, in-person and virtual events, organic and paid online campaigns, traditional media, augmented reality experiences, geotargeted mobile advertising, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted technology for content creation. Technologies and approaches are changing so rapidly that marketing campaigns considered state-of-the-art 5 or 10 years ago may seem obsolete now.  

Most rural transit agencies engage in a variety of marketing and public communication activities. Many agencies do not have the resources or knowledge to effectively market their services or communicate service changes to all existing and potential riders. It is not financially sustainable for most rural transit agencies to hire an external marketing agency. Small transit systems without a dedicated marketing team member might rely on internal staff without relevant skills or dedicated time, which could lead to ineffective marketing, wasting valuable time and resources with little or no opportunity to measure the return on investment.

There are few standards, national guidelines, or programs on effective marketing or public communication strategies in rural transit settings. Research is needed to document successful marketing practices currently used by rural transit agencies and practical resources to develop strong marketing and communication resources to pave the way for innovative and effective marketing campaigns.

OBJECTIVE 

The objective of the research is to develop practical guidance and resources for public transportation managers and staff at rural transit agencies and state departments of transportation to enhance rural transit marketing and customer communication strategies.

RESEARCH PLAN

The TCRP is seeking proposals on how best to achieve the research objective. Proposers are expected to describe research plans that can realistically be accomplished within the constraints of available funds and subaward time. Proposals must present the proposers' current thinking in sufficient detail to demonstrate their understanding of the issues and the soundness of their approach to meeting the research objective.

The research shall:

• Develop a systematic method to help rural transit agencies identify, understand, and prioritize their marketing needs.
• Identify and summarize existing literature and other resources on marketing public transit and other transportation providers, with a focus on strategies relevant to rural communities.
• Document strategies transit agencies have used to effectively reach riders, enhance community engagement, and maximize their return on marketing investments.
• Identify staff roles, responsibilities, time, and effort needed to conduct marketing and customer communication activities including potential coordination with local partners.
• Identify best practices, tools, resources, and emerging innovative techniques, including the use of generative AI and other advanced technologies, that take into consideration funding, challenges, barriers, and lessons learned.
• Provide a framework for planning and implementation of marketing campaigns.  
• Propose approaches for ensuring marketing strategies meet the needs of the served populations and efforts to capture new riders.
• Provide a matrix or other tools to measure return on investment (ROI), including performance metrics and targets.
• Provide practical recommendations that rural transit agencies can implement to enhance their marketing impact, including guidance on selecting appropriate marketing approaches for specific scenarios (e.g., raising awareness of existing services, launching new routes, recruiting drivers, or promoting events).

Proposers should include recommendations for a project approach and deliverables that will support the development of marketing and communication strategies that transit agencies can use to successfully reach riders, enhance community engagement and increase their return on their marketing investments. These recommendations should identify innovative ways to conduct research (focus groups, stakeholder interviews, etc.) and present the information (case studies, creation of evaluation frameworks, checklists, online resources, fact sheets, etc.). 

This research will result in products that would assist transit agencies, departments of transportation, and other stakeholders in implementing the results of the study. Some examples are videos, toolkits, checklists, an interactive matrix organizing strategies by resources and cost, and other avenues for sharing the information. 

The research plan shall be divided into tasks that present, in detail, the work proposed in each task. The research plan shall describe appropriate deliverables (which also represent key project milestones) including at a minimum, the following:

• An amplified research plan;
• Interim report and panel meeting: the interim report should include the analyses and results of completed tasks, an update of the remaining tasks, and a detailed outline of the final research product(s). The panel meeting will occur after the panel review of the interim report. The interim report and panel meeting should occur after the expenditure of no more than 40 percent of the project budget;
• Draft report;
• Final report; and,
• Technical memorandum titled “Implementation of Research Findings and Products” (see special Note J).

The research team may include additional deliverables and additional panel meetings via teleconference in the research plan. The research plan shall have a schedule for the project that includes 3 weeks for panel review of the interim report, 4 weeks for panel review of the draft final report, and 4 weeks for research team's revision of the draft final report.

SPECIAL NOTES

A. Revisions to the Information and Instructions for Preparing Proposals for the Transportation Research Board’s Cooperative Research Programs are highlighted in yellow within that document.

B. Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF file with a maximum file size of 10 MB. The PDF must be formatted for standard 8 ½” X 11” paper, and the entire proposal must not exceed 60 pages (according to the page count displayed in the PDF). Proposals that do not meet these requirements will be rejected. For other requirements, refer to chapter IV of the instructions.

C. The Information and Instructions for Preparing Proposals for the Transportation Research Board’s Cooperative Research Programs have been modified to include a revised policy and instructions for disclosing Investigator Conflict of Interest. For more information, refer to chapter IV of the instructions. A detailed definition and examples can be found in the CRP Conflict of Interest Policy for Subawardees. The proposer recommended by the project panel will be required to submit an Investigator Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Form as a prerequisite for subaward negotiations.

D. Proposals will be rejected if any of the proposed research team members work for organizations represented on the project panel. The panel roster for this project can be found at here. Proposers may not contact panel members directly; this roster is provided solely for the purpose of avoiding potential conflicts of interest.

E. Proprietary Products - If any proprietary products are to be used or tested in the project, please refer to Item 6 in the Information and Instructions for Preparing Proposals.

F. Proposals are evaluated by the TCRP staff and project panels consisting of individuals collectively knowledgeable in the problem area. The project panel will recommend their first choice proposal considering the following factors: (1) the proposer's demonstrated understanding of the problem; (2) the merit of the proposed research approach and experiment design; (3) the experience, qualifications, and objectivity of the research team in the same or closely related problem area; (4) the plan for ensuring application of results; and, if relevant, (5) the adequacy of the facilities. A recommendation by the project panel is not a guarantee of a subaward. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS - the contracting authority for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) will conduct an internal due diligence review and risk assessment of the panel’s recommended proposal before subaward negotiations continue.

G. Copyrights - All data, written materials, computer software, graphic and photographic images, and other information prepared under the subaward and the copyrights therein shall be owned by the National Academy of Sciences. The subawardee and lower-tier subawardees will be able to publish this material for non-commercial purposes, for internal use, or to further academic research or studies with permission from TRB Cooperative Research Programs. The subawardee and lower-tier subawardees will not be allowed to sell the project material without prior approval by the National Academy of Sciences. By signing a subaward with the National Academy of Sciences, subawardees accept legal responsibility for any copyright infringement that may exist in work done for TRB. Subawardees are therefore responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions for use of copyrighted material in TRB's Cooperative Research Programs publications. For guidance on TRB's policies on using copyrighted material please consult Section 5.4, "Use of Copyrighted Material," in the Procedural Manual for Subawardees.

H. The text of the final deliverable is expected to be publication ready when it is submitted. It is strongly recommended that the research team include the expertise of a technical editor as early in the project timeline as possible. See Appendix F of the Procedural Manual for Subawardees Conducting Research in the Transportation Research Board’s Cooperative Research Program for technical editing standards expected in final deliverables.

I. Proposals should include a task-by-task breakdown of labor hours for each staff member as shown in Figure 4 in the Information and Instructions for Preparing Proposals. Proposals also should include a breakdown of all costs (e.g., wages, indirect costs, travel, materials, and total) for each task using Figures 5 and 6 in the brochure. Please note that selected proposers are considered subawards to the National Academy of Sciences, the parent organization of TRB. TRB Cooperative Research Program subawards must comply with 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. These requirements include a provision that proposers without a federally Negotiated Indirect Costs Rate Agreement (NICRA) or audited indirect rates shall be subject to a maximum allowable indirect rate of 15% of Modified Total Direct Costs (de minimis rate). Modified Total Direct Costs include all salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $50,000 of each lower-tier subaward. Modified Total Direct Costs exclude equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs and the portion of each lower-tier subaward in excess of $50,000.

J. The required technical memorandum titled “Implementation of Research Findings and Products” should (a) provide recommendations on how to best put the research findings/products into practice; (b) identify possible institutions that might take leadership in applying the research findings/products; (c) identify issues affecting potential implementation of the findings/products and recommend possible actions to address these issues; and (d) recommend methods of identifying and measuring the impacts associated with implementation of the findings/products. Implementation of these recommendations is not part of the research project and, if warranted, details of these actions will be developed and implemented in future efforts.

K. All budget information should be suitable for printing on 8½″ x 11″ paper. If a budget page cannot fit on a single 8½″ x 11″ page, it should be split over multiple pages. Proposers must use the Excel templates provided in the Information and Instructions for Preparing Proposals for the Transportation Research Board’s Cooperative Research Programs.

L. The National Academies have an ethical and legal obligation to provide proper attribution whenever material from other sources is included in its reports, online postings, and other publications and products. TRB will review all Cooperative Research Programs draft final deliverables using the software iThenticate for potential plagiarism. If plagiarized text appears in the draft final deliverable, the research team will be required to make revisions and the opportunity to submit future proposals may be affected.