Metra Reinvented Itself
James R. Derwinski joined Metra in 1997 as an electrician and climbed the ranks through the mechanical department until he became CEO in 2017.
Jim described the innovative marketing plan that Metra undertook to address declining ridership. After five consecutive years of declining ridership, it was clear that consumer needs were changing. Declining fuel prices made driving more competitive, and Metra had not been marketing train service aggressively. Working with an outside marketing firm, they built “brand architecture” that revolved around the concept of “My Metra”. Then the pandemic hit with stay-at-home orders, dropping ridership by 90%.
Metra needed to convey messages to riders that they could “Commute with Confidence”. Factors included: one person per seat, hand sanitizer dispensers, hospital-grade filters, touchless ticketing, face coverings are provided, and a commitment of cleaning. On Metra cars, air is replaced every four minutes. They also created a ridership dashboard so riders could check the density of riders on the route. The message impetus is all about recovery.
For a full view of Metra’s new look, check out their website at: https://metrarail.com