Palm Tran's "Let's Get on the Bus!" Challenge, an initiative to promote public transit and sustainable transportation in Palm Beach County, Fla., held their Grand Finale awards ceremony after several months of events, advertising and publicity.
Officially kicked off on March 1, the first of its kind challenge aimed to highlight how choosing to ride the bus is a significant step towards environmental sustainability and financial savings.
The launch event, dubbed a "Move & Mingle," hosted by Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard at the Palm Beach Zoo, encouraged transit ridership through a series of engaging events and the chance to win prizes such as free bus passes, gift cards, tickets to local attractions and cruise tickets. The initiative saw immediate enthusiasm, with more than 100 participants signing up on the first day.
Throughout the campaign, local dignitaries played a crucial role as "Transit Champions," each hosting their own "Move & Mingle" events to spotlight Palm Tran’s fixed-route bus service. A total of 16 transit champions hosted their own events, each highlighting a different location in the county and bringing along about a dozen or more guests, many of whom were riding the bus for the first time as part of their Transit Champion Team.
"This was a wonderful campaign that brought together leaders from a wide range of sectors, including government, business, education and non-profit, to highlight the benefits of public transit for our county community," said Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia C. Baker. "A lot of people learned that Palm Tran is a service for everyone."
Promotion of the campaign included two 30-second and one-60 second TV spots, three paid social media ads and 277 organic posts, radio ads, ads in the Palm Beach Post newspaper and email and text messages, all encouraging the public to join the challenge. Palm Tran also offered a promo code worth $5 on the Paradise Pass, a contactless app used to pay fares, to encourage people to try the bus for free.
In the first month, Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Chelsea Reed engaged with riders at the Gardens Mall, handing out Palm Tran hats, sunglasses and other promotional items while emphasizing the benefits of sustainable transportation. She also awarded four tickets to Calypso Bay Waterpark to Joanna Joseph, a lucky rider on Route 3.
"Not everybody has a car," Joseph said. "There's no way for everyone to go to a job if they don't have access to public transportation."
Babara Cipriano, provost and dean of Palm Beach State College (PBSC), hosted a Move & Mingle, where she awarded Maria Ustick, a student and PBSC volleyball team member, a three-month Palm Tran bus pass.
“I am extremely happy that I received this bus pass,” Ustick said. "This works out beautifully for me. I'm very happy that I won! The bus operators are really sweet. I always say ‘bye’ to them. They always say ‘hi’ to me.”
Other events featured County Commissioner Gregg K. Weiss at Lake Worth Beach and Palm Beach County School Board member Marcia Andrews in Belle Glade, further boosting community involvement and awareness.
As the campaign progressed, Palm Tran continued to host numerous "Move & Mingle" events with a diverse group of local leaders and community partners. Each event brought together community members to explore the convenience and benefits of public transit while visiting local attractions.
A Grand Finale Move & Mingle event was held on Aug. 14 in the courtyard of the Robert Weisman Governmental Center in downtown West Palm Beach, with Baker as the final Transit Champion. John Harris, who racked up a whopping 491 rides during the campaign, was awarded as top rider, with a year's worth of bus fare on his Paradise Pass account. Belle Glade Steve Wilson was presented with an award for top Transit Champion for recruiting the most team members. Vice Mayor Joquin Almazan was there to accept on his behalf.
The following dignitaries each hosted their own Move & Mingle event:
- Mack Bernard, PBC commissioner – Palm Beach Zoo
- Chelsea Reed, mayor of Palm Beach Gardens – Gardens Mall
- Gregg K. Weiss, PBC commissioner – Lake Worth Beach Park
- Marcia Andrews, school board member – West Tech Education Center
- Donald Burgess, CEO of Chamber of the Palm Beaches – Tanger Outlet Mall
- Michele Jacobs, CEO of PBC Economic Council – Florida Atlantic University
- Steve Wilson, mayor of Belle Glade – Lakeside Medical Center & Belle Glade Branch Library
- Dr. Ava Parker, president of Palm Beach State College – Palm Beach State College
- Raphael Clemente, executive director of DDA – Havana Restaurant
- Kirsten Dolan, CEO of OneParking – Drive Shack
- Valerie Neilson, executive Director of the TPA – Okeeheelee Park
- Marci Woodward, PBC commissioner – Mizner Park
- Fran Nachlas, Boca Raton City Council – Mizner Park
- Kim DeLaney, director of strategic development TCRPC – Riviera Beach Marina Village
- Michael A. Barnett, PBC commissioner – Cox Science Center and Aquarium
- Jonathan Hopkins, executive director of WPBgo – Norton Museum of Art
- Verdenia C. Baker, Palm Beach County administrator – Robert Weisman Governmental Center
The "Let's Get on the Bus!" Challenge concluded with impressive results. There were more than 2.5 million times that advertisements showed Palm Beach County residents of their transportation options. A total of 570 first time and regular riders collectively took 15,967 rides during the campaign. The top rider overall, Harris, took 420 rides during the challenge. Belle Glade Mayor Wilson’s team lead the leaderboard for most participants with 27 riders joining him on the bus.
Finally, the challenge help boost ridership to exceed Palm Tran’s pre-COVID-19 numbers for the first time. Ridership in April 2024 was 866,072, which is a 24.4 percent increase compared to the 696,028 passengers for the same period in Fiscal Year 2023 and a 6.6 percent increase compared to the 812,213 passengers reported during the previous month of March 2024. In May 2024, Palm Tran reported a ridership of 860,459 across all modes of service (Fixed-Route, Connection, Go Glades), which marked a 15 percent increase compared to the 748,078 passengers in May 2023. For the first time since COVID-19, Palm Tran has surpassed total ridership for the same month pre-pandemic.
"I am really proud of the work the team at Palm Tran put into this campaign," said Assistant County Administrator Todd J. Bonlarron. "This was really a boon to the county, showcasing the many wonderful destinations sites we have to offer, all accessible by our fixed-route public transportation system."
