Ads Making Fun Of Bad CTA Users Win National Award

By Kate Shepherd in News on Oct 7, 2015 9:30PM

The CTA has been awarded for taking a stand against bad public transportation etiquette.

The transit system launched a fantastic ad campaign encouraging better passenger behavior on subways and buses in May and it landed them the "Grand Award" for creative excellence from the American Public Transportation Association on Tuesday, the CTA announced in a statement.

Picture via CTA

The campaign stood out because it illustrated the most commonly heard complaints from CTA passengers about the behavior of fellow riders. It touched on the worst train behavior: littering, eating, playing music too loudly, not using all available doors and more. The CTA has been working on improving customer communications especially through its social media channels where many riders voice their opinions.

Picture via CTA

"The overwhelming majority of CTA customers are considerate of their fellow passengers," Graham Garfield, General Manager of Customer Information for the CTA said in May. "However, based on feedback we've received from passengers, we believe this public-service campaign will help improve the transit experience by continuing the dialogue about courtesy among our customers. We hope it will encourage customers to think more about courteous behavior on CTA trains and buses."

Picture via CTA

It was all conceived and designed in-house and features messages that appear on car cards on trains and buses.

Picture via CTA

"I was proud to accept the APTA Grand Award on behalf of CTA, but am even prouder still of the work we're doing at CTA to foster discussion among our customers about their CTA experiences," CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said in a statement. "We will continue to innovate and look for fresh and unique ways to prompt that dialogue."

Picture via CTA

The entire ad campaign can be seen on the CTA's site.