BACKGROUND
As local transportation and transit organizations develop and
execute programs to promote their services and alternative modes
of travel, it is important to understand whether these programs
are successful or not. Understanding the effect of a program enables
transportation marketers to improve their next efforts.
While the best measure of the success of a promotion is an increase
in usage of the service or mode being promoted, it is not always
possible to measure these changes. For example, when carpooling
or bicycling are promoted, there are no "ridership"
figures reported.
Therefore, in order to measure and evaluate the effect of a promotion,
it is often beneficial to conduct survey research among the promotion's
target audience.
Pacific/West Communications, Inc. has developed a survey methodology
called the Mini-Monitor that is designed to measure mode usage
and awareness as well as promotion awareness among a promotion's
target audience. Mini-Monitor results should be evaluated in conjunction
with data about mode/service usage to provide a comprehensive
base of evaluative information.
The Mini-Monitor methodology was developed specifically
As a low cost research method for smaller-scale promotions.
To provide information from a specific, tightly defined target
audience.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Mini-Monitor are to measure:
Awareness of specific services or modes (unaided and aided) that are being promoted,
Usage of these specific services or modes,
Awareness of promotional activities,
Commuting habits and attitudes,
Demographics.
METHODOLOGY
The Mini-Monitor is designed as an in-person interview that takes
approximately 5 minutes to complete. Respondents are intercepted
at a central location where the target audience is most likely
to be found. For example:
A minimum of 200 interviews is recommended. If sub-groups are
to be analyzed (e.g. younger vs. older, professional vs. clerical,
etc.) a minimum sample of 300 interviews are advisable. Using
a local, professional interviewing service to complete the interviews
and provide a computer tabulation of the results is also highly
recommended.
METHODOLOGY (continued)
The recommended usage of the Mini-Monitor is as a "pre/post"
tracking study. In other words, the same study should be conducted
at two separate times: once before the promotion begins and a
second time at the close of the promotion. Results from the two
studies can then be compared side by side to determine whether
the promotion produced any immediate changes in behavior and/or
awareness.
However, the Mini-Monitor is also useful if conducted one time
at the close of a promotion. Ideally, interviewing at the close
of the promotion should be done as soon after the last effort
as possible. Any potential promotional effects are most likely
to be measured if interviewing can begin the day after the last
media exposure. Delays in interviewing are likely to result in
declining awareness of the promotion and/or the services being
promoted.
QUESTIONNAIRE
A sample questionnaire is appended to this document. This questionnaire
can be altered to reflect the information needs of the specific
promotion, the mode being measured, and the target audience for
the promotion. For example:
In attached questionnaire the target audience for the promotion
was workers in Century City, so the questions in the "screening"
portion of the survey are designed to identify that target. However,
if the target of a promotion is all commuters, both workers and
students should be included.
| AM | |
| NAME ____________________________ | TIME STARTED _______________PM |
| AM | |
| ADDRESS _________________________ | TIME ENDED__________________PM |
| CITY ______________________________ | PHONE # ________________________ |
| INTERVIEWED BY _________________ | DATE ___________________________ |
| VALIDATED BY ____________________ | DATE ___________________________ |
Hello, my name is [INTERVIEWER NAME] of _____________,
a marketing research firm. We are talking with people here today
and would like to ask you a few questions about public transportation.
Your responses will be strictly anonymous and recorded for statistical
purposes only. This will take about 5 minutes.
A. Do you or anyone in your family work for the NEWS
MEDIA, ADVERTISING, MARKET RESEARCH, or PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION?
YES [THANK & TERMINATE] 1
NO [CONTINUE] 2
B. Do you work in Century City?
YES [CONTINUE] 1
NO [THANK & TERMINATE] 2
C. Are you employed full-time, that is, 35 hours
a week or more? Or part-time?
EMPLOYED:
FULL TIME 1
PART TIME 2
1. What ZIP CODE do you live in?
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
________________________________________________________________________
2. What is your present job or position?
[WRITE IN] ____________________________________________________________
PROFESSIONAL / TECHNICAL 1
MANAGER / EXECUTIVE 2
SALES 3
SKILLED LABOR 4
UNSKILLED LABOR / OPERATORS 5
SERVICE WORKER 6
MILITARY 7
OTHER 8
REFUSED 9
_______________________________________________________________________
3. Thinking about your commute, how do you usually
get to and from work?
[DO NOT READ] CAR (GENERAL) 1
DRIVE ALONE IN CAR 2
BUS (GENERAL) 3
EXPRESS BUS 4
SHUTTLE (GENERAL) 5
RUSH SHUTTLE 6
DASH SHUTTLE 7
CARPOOL 8
PARK N RIDE CARPOOL 9
VANPOOL 10
PARK N RIDE VANPOOL 11
METRO RED/BLUE/GREEN LINE 12
METROLINK 13
BIKE 14
WALK 15
OTHER 16
REFUSED 17
4. And how long does it usually take you to get to
work?
[ENTER NUMBER: _____________Minutes]
LESS THAN 5 MINUTES 1
6 - 10 MINUTES 2
11 - 19 MINUTES 3
20 - 29 MINUTES 4
30 - 39 MINUTES 5
40 - 49 MINUTES 6
50 - 59 MINUTES 7
60 MINUTES OR MORE 8
DON'T KNOW 9
________________________________________________________________________
5A. Have you ever tried commuting to work here in
Century City any other way?
NO 1
YES [ASK Q. 5B] 2
________________________________________________________________________
5B. What have you tried? (MULTIPLE ANSWERS OK)
[DO NOT READ] CAR (GENERAL) 1
DRIVE ALONE IN CAR 2
BUS (GENERAL) 3
EXPRESS BUS 4
SHUTTLE (GENERAL) 5
RUSH SHUTTLE 6
DASH SHUTTLE 7
CARPOOL 8
PARK N RIDE CARPOOL 9
VANPOOL 10
PARK N RIDE VANPOOL 11
METRO RED/BLUE/GREEN LINE 12
METROLINK 13
BIKE 14
WALK 15
OTHER 16
REFUSED 17
________________________________________________________________________
6. How likely is it in the next two years that you
will try commuting using alternatives like carpools, buses, trolleys,
biking or walking? Would you say you are ...
[SHOW CARD 6] EXTREMELY LIKELY 1
VERY LIKELY 2
YOU MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT 3
NOT VERY LIKELY, OR 4
NOT AT ALL LIKELY 5
________________________________________________________________________
7A. Are you aware of any public transportation that
provides service in and around Century City?
YES [ASK Q. 7B] 1
NO 2
DON'T KNOW 3
______________________________________________________________________
7B. And what kind of transportation is that? (Probe:
Any others?)
[DO NOT READ] BUSES (GENERAL) 1
MTA 2
SANTA MONICA/BLUE BUS 3
OTHER BUS LINE 4
EXPRESS BUSES 5
SHUTTLES (GENERAL) 6
RUSH SHUTTLE 7
VANPOOLS 8
TAXICABS 9
OTHER ________________________ 10
DON'T KNOW 11
8A. Do you ever travel away from the workplace during the day for lunch or to run errands?
YES [ASK Q. 8B] 1
NO 2
DON'T KNOW 3
________________________________________________________________________
8B. In the past month, what type or types of transportation
have you used to leave the workplace during the day? (MULTIPLE
ANSWERS OK)
[DO NOT READ] CAR (GENERAL) 1
DRIVE ALONE 2
DRIVE WITH OTHERS 3
BUS (GENERAL) 4
SHUTTLE (GENERAL) 5
RUSH SHUTTLE 6
BIKE 7
WALK 8
OTHER 9
NO TRIPS PAST MONTH 10
________________________________________________________________________
9A. Have you seen, read or heard anything in the past month about commuting or traveling during the day in this area using public transportation?
YES [ASK Q. 9B + 9C] 1
NO 2
DON'T KNOW 3
________________________________________________________________________
9B. And what kind of transportation have you seen,
read or heard about? (MULTIPLE ANSWERS OK)
[DO NOT READ] BUSES (GENERAL) 1
MTA 2
SANTA MONICA/BLUE BUS 3
OTHER BUS LINE 4
EXPRESS BUSES 5
SHUTTLES (GENERAL) 6
RUSH SHUTTLE 7
VANPOOLS 8
TAXICABS 9
OTHER ________________________ 10
DON'T KNOW 11
________________________________________________________________________
9C. Do you recall where you saw or heard about that?
(MULTIPLE ANSWERS OK)
[DO NOT READ] TELEVISION 1
RADIO 2
NEWSPAPER 3
LOCAL NEWSLETTER 4
STREET BANNERS 5
SAW SHUTTLE BUS 6
SIGNS ON BUSES 7
MAIL AT HOME 8
EMPLOYER 9
CO-WORKER 10
FRIEND / FAMILY 11
OTHER 12
DON'T KNOW 13
________________________________________________________________________
10A. Have you heard of the RUSH shuttle?
YES / HEARD [ASK Q. 10B] 1
NO / NOT HEARD 2
DON'T KNOW 3
________________________________________________________________________
10B. Do you recall where you saw or heard about it?
(Probe: Anywhere else?)
[DO NOT READ] TELEVISION 1
RADIO 2
NEWSPAPER (GENERAL) 3
LOCAL NEWSPAPER (GENERAL) 5
BEVERLY HILLS CHRONICLE 5
WESTWOOD NEWS 5
CENTURY CITY CHRONICLE 5
BRENTWOOD NEWS 5
EMPLOYER/ AT WORK (GENERAL) 9
EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER 4
FLIER/BROCHURE/PRINTED PIECE 5
STREET BANNERS 5
SAW SHUTTLE BUS 6
SIGNS ON SHUTTLES/BUSES 7
CO-WORKER 10
FRIEND / FAMILY 11
OTHER 12
DON'T KNOW 13
[ASK ONLY OF THOSE WHO HAVE HEARD OF THE RUSH SHUTTLE.]
11A. Have you ever used the RUSH shuttle?
YES [ASK Q. 11B - 11I] 1
NO 2
DON'T KNOW / REFUSED 3
________________________________________________________________________
11B. About how many times in total have you used
the RUSH shuttle?
[SHOW CARD 11B] Once 1
2 times 2
3 - 4 times 3
5 - 7 times 4
8 - 9 times 5
10 or more times 6
Don't know 7
________________________________________________________________________
11C. And how long ago was the FIRST time you used
it?
[SHOW CARD 11C] Within past week 1
1 to less than 2 weeks ago 2
2 weeks to a month ago 3
One month to less than two months ago 4
Two months ago or longer 5
Not sure/don't know 6
________________________________________________________________________
11D. Why did you first decide to try the RUSH shuttle?
(Probe: Any other reasons?)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11E. What time of day have you used the RUSH shuttle?
(Probe: Any other times?)
MID-DAY/LUNCH TIME 1
MORNING/BEFORE WORK 2
EVENING/AFTER WORK 3
OTHER (specify) _________________ 3
11F. Have you used any coupons to ride the RUSH shuttle?
YES 1
NO 2
DON'T KNOW / NO ANSWER 3
11G. Have you used the RUSH shuttle in the past month?
YES 1
NO [SKIP TO Q. 11I] 2
DON'T KNOW / NO ANSWER 3
________________________________________________________________________
11H. Have you used the RUSH shuttle in the past week?
YES 1
NO 2
DON'T KNOW / NO ANSWER 3
________________________________________________________________________
11I. How likely are you to ride the RUSH shuttle
again? Would you say you are...
[SHOW CARD 6] EXTREMELY LIKELY 1
VERY LIKELY 2
YOU MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT 3
NOT VERY LIKELY, OR 4
NOT AT ALL LIKELY 5
________________________________________________________________________
[ASK ONLY OF THOSE WHO HAVE NOT USED THE RUSH SHUTTLE]
12. How likely are you to try the RUSH shuttle? Would
you say you are...
[SHOW CARD 6] EXTREMELY LIKELY 1
VERY LIKELY 2
YOU MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT 3
NOT VERY LIKELY 4
NOT AT ALL LIKELY 5
[ASK EVERYONE]
13. Why do you feel that way? (Probe)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Now, I have just a few more questions that will
be used for statistical purposes only. None of your answers will
be attributed to you personally. What will be your age on your
next birthday?
[SHOW CARD 14] UNDER 18 1
18 - 24 2
25 - 34 3
35 - 44 4
45 - 54 5
55 - 64 6
65 & OLDER 7
REFUSED 8
15. What was the last grade of formal
education that you completed?
[SHOW CARD 15] HI SCHOOL GRAD OR LESS 1
SOME COLLEGE 2
COLLEGE GRAD 3
POST GRADUATE 4
REFUSED 5
16. What is your marital status? Are you single,
married, divorced . . .
Single 1
Married 2
Divorced/Widowed/Separated 3
Other 4
Refused 5
17. Are there any children age 18 or younger currently
living in your household?
YES 1
NO 2
DON'T KNOW/REFUSE 3
18. Which of the following groups includes your total
household income from last year?
[SHOW CARD 18] LESS THAN $15,000 1
$15,000 - $25,000 2
$25,000 - $35,000 3
$35,000 - $50,000 4
$50,000 - $75,000 5
MORE THAN $75,000 6
REFUSED 7
19. What do you consider to be your racial background?
[SHOW CARD 19] CAUCASIAN 1
LATINO/HISPANIC 2
AFRICAN AMERICAN 3
ASIAN 4
OTHER 5
REFUSED 6
Record respondents name, address and phone number on first page. Also record your name, the date, the times the interview started and ended. Circle the appropriate code for respondent's gender.
THANK & GOOD-BYE
20. SEX [BY OBSERVATION] MALE 1
FEMALE 2