SacRT Citizens Transit Academy

Target Audience: Our primary target audience were citizens that live and work within SacRT's 440 square-mile service area in the Sacramento region. We aimed to form a diverse cohort of participants representing all of our region, with an emphasis on people who may be traditionally or historically underrepresented in transit service planning and development process.

Strategy Objective:The strategy was to offer a unique, grassroots approach into the inner workings of SacRT and to encourage civic engagement. This was achieved by organizing and hosting a SacRT Citizens Transit Academy in May 2022. The objective was to reach participants that represented Sacramento county's diverse population, which included a mix of students, young adults, business professionals, seniors, individuals with disabilities, elected officials, key stakeholders and community-minded individuals. The free six-session course included presentations, interactive panel discussions, field trips, and tours that taught participants about becoming an active stakeholder in regional public transit.

Situation Challenge: While support for more equitable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable public transit services from Sacramento constituencies is very strong, there are many citizens (riders and non-riders alike) who do not understand the funding and planning process, economic impact, and value public transit brings to a community. On a shoestring budget, the challenge was to be able to educate a diverse population living in SacRT's service area about the significant benefits of public transit, even if they didn't ride. The application period was heavily promoted on SacRT's owned (free) media, including website, social media, passenger newsletter, and email.

Results Impact: On our social media channels, we posted about the Transit Academy nine times between March and June and had 55,361 impressions/reach. We received 40 applications, but due to social distancing requirements, class size was limited to 30 applicants. 25 completed the five-week course (each session was two hours long) including two field trips. The sessions included presentations from different SacRT divisions to provide a better understanding of the innerworkings of a transit agency. All graduates were asked to share, within three months of graduation, what they learned about transit with their community in order to achieve greater public awareness. Approximately 75% of the academy graduates became active in local public transit advocacy organizations.

Why Submit: It should win, because SacRT was successful in finding a no-cost way to creatively raise public awareness of how funding public transit shapes healthy and prosperous communities, demonstrates our value, and educates citizens about the many benefits of transit, that continues to grow organically through Transit Academy session graduates that have since become active advocates. This successful program can be easily replicated by transit agencies of all sizes who are looking to generate knowledgeable and diverse ambassadors for public transit that go on to engage the larger community in positive conversations about funding the region's mobility needs.