About West Coast Express
West Coast Express (WCE) is a commuter system providing train and highway coach service to the residents of the northeast sector of BC’s Lower Mainland. Each weekday, over 10,000 passengers get on and off at one of WCE’s eight stations – between Mission and Vancouver.
Case Study #11: West Coast Express
Situation
During its 14 years of operation, WCE had consistently received very favourable consumer ratings. In fact, WCE has been named as one of the top commuter systems in the world. During most of this period, WCE had operated at less-than-capacity passenger levels. However, over the past two years WCE has experienced a sudden increase in ridership. As a result, the commuter trains and highway coaches have become more crowded than they had been in previous years.
In addition to the increase in ridership, WCE also noticed an increase in the number of passengers displaying less-than-considerate behaviour to each other—including seat saving, door blocking and improper storage of belongings.
Solution
To manage expectations (of the growing passenger base) and to encourage courteous behavior between riders, we developed a strategy to instill a sense of pride and onboard community. This strategy was based on the premise that many of the passengers displaying the poor behavior may not necessarily be aware of their actions. And so we created a campaign designed to encourage improved onboard behavior - without being condescending towards its audience.
The result was an innovative, tongue-in-cheek, western-themed marketing campaign, which highlighted some of the etiquette infractions of fictitious “etiquette outlaws” and encouraged people not to be mistaken for an Etiquette Outlaw. The theory was that once passengers recognized themselves in the “etiquette outlaws” scenarios, that they would alter their behaviour and show more consideration towards their fellow riders.
Success
Within the first year of the campaign, the increase in reports of “onboard infractions” had leveled off; in the second year, the incidents had actually decreased over the previous year. Numerous passengers had also contacted WCE Customer Service to commend them on their tactful yet effective marketing methods; some passengers have even requested copies of the posters for their own use.
Furthermore, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) awarded WCE First Place in their annual AdWheel Marketing Awards competition; the campaign beat out hundreds of other entries from across North America. In addition, WCE was contacted by various media outlets and reporters regarding the success and unique approach of their Etiquette campaign.
