The TTC has to
focus its efforts on moving people from A to B on time, but should
it also promote its role as part of Toronto’s culture? Some readers
have written to me about commission chair Howard Moscoe’s Pizzazz
campaign, which is bringing all sorts of entertainers to subway
stations and transit vehicles.
The curmudgeon
in me says the priority should be better service -- but “delighting
the customer” is not such a bad intention either. Moscoe said
yesterday the Pizzazz campaign was “just done to bring a smile to
people’s faces occasionally.” I hear it has achieved that, at a cost
of only $47,000 in promotional costs.
Taken from
1,300 suggestions submitted by riders, events are planned today at
Yonge-Sheppard and St. Patrick stations. You may enjoy some unusual
occurrences during your travels next week -- see
www.ttc.ca for details.
There’s more
goodwill and creativity out there, so how can the TTC cooperate with
the people and companies that want to promote transit? Over two
years ago, the TTC put out a request for “non-traditional” ways to
bring in funds without costing money. Only seven submissions were
received, and none were “revenue-generating”, says acting chief
marketing officer Alice Smith.
More recently,
transit enthusiast and artist Matt Blackett called the TTC with
several promotional ideas, including selling buttons depicting each
subway station. He says he was told the transit agency would have to
put out a specific request before anything would be considered.
Blackett went
on to sell 50,000 buttons through the website
www.spacing.ca -- without any
formal assistance from the TTC. Smith says, “I don’t recall speaking
to him myself, but I’d be happy to chat with him further and explore
things.“
This isn’t the
only unorthodox pro-transit proposal to get a cool reception from
the TTC. What is the appropriate way to approach the agency with a
new idea? Smith says the TTC does get submissions regularly, and
will respond to them. “If you prepare your proposal in writing, and
forward it to us, we would review it and then meet with the
(proponents).. and take it from there.” She adds, “If it’s marketing
related, it could come to me.”
Downtown office
worker Joseph Travers has a project he says “adds value” to the
Metropass by convincing companies to give discounts to pass holders.
With the help of the Sierra Club, the Metropass Affinity Program
(MAP) was launched this month. Travers hopes the TTC will, at a
minimum, help promote the initiative. He wants to increase the
number of discounts available -- see
www.themap.ca for the current list.
Smith says that
a similar program was discontinued in the 1990s, partly due to staff
downsizing at the transit agency. The TTC still promotes discounts
occasionally, including a current offer at the Bata Shoe Museum.
Its up to
Travers to present his idea, but perhaps the TTC will take a fresh
look at how it deals with suggestions from outside the commission.