The Role of Marketing in Mass Transit: An Empirical Investigation

Survey data are used to identify the nature and the extent of utilization of the various elements of a marketing program in the development and delivery of publicly owned bus transit systems in the US. Some 163 questionnaires were mailed to existing bus transit systems in all 50 states; 85 were retu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transportation journal 1990-10, Vol.30 (1), p.30-35
Main Authors: SMITH, MARY F., RAZZOUK, NABIL Y., RICHARDSON, SCOTT A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Bus transit
City buses
Commuting
Consumer attitudes
Exact sciences and technology
Ground, air and sea transportation, marine construction
Market segmentation
Marketing
Marketing functions
Mass transit
Passengers
Public transportation
Rail transit
Ridership
Road transportation and traffic
Transit systems
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Summary:Survey data are used to identify the nature and the extent of utilization of the various elements of a marketing program in the development and delivery of publicly owned bus transit systems in the US. Some 163 questionnaires were mailed to existing bus transit systems in all 50 states; 85 were returned. The main finding is the apparent absence of the marketing philosophy from the nation's bus-transport system. The survey showed that, in general, marketing's role is mainly promotional instead of being the underlying philosophy around which a customer-oriented organizational culture is built. Overall, 82% of the agencies indicated preparing some type of an annual marketing plan. Most of these agencies had their plans prepared by agency personnel. The average annual marketing budget was $465,000, with very small systems averaging $19,000 and large systems averaging $1.34 million.
ISSN:0041-1612
2157-328X