Trinity Metro Launches Storytime Trains

Chief Strategy Officer
Trinity Metro
Fort Worth, TX

This summer, Trinity Metro launched Storytime Trains to invite families to enjoy children’s stories while experiencing our sleek trains. The innovative campaign focused on two major goals: increasing ridership and cultivating a new generation of transit riders.

The plan was to have a designated morning train every Wednesday and Saturday in July. We announced the campaign on our website, via earned media, and through social media outreach. The response was overwhelming, with RSVPs filling the trains almost immediately. On some days, we added a second Storytime Train to split participants into more manageable groups. On the most popular trip, we filled three train cars.

After all of the spots for July trains were reserved, we still had an overflow crowd, so we added a train for the first Saturday in August to accommodate those riders. All of the Storytime Trains were part of the regular service, so other riders were still able to travel from Fort Worth to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and points in between while children and parents were transported on a special journey. The initiative was tremendously successful for ridership, which showed an average increase of 17 percent on Storytime Train days in July.

The campaign gave parents the opportunity to ride our service with their families. Upon arrival at the train station, they were greeted by Trinity Metro employees, who welcomed them to the Storytime Train and guided them to the platform and onto Trinity Metro TEXRail. Employees across the agency volunteered to make the event extra special for passengers. Some were greeters, others held books on the trains, and some handed out paper conductor hats for the kids.

Trinity Metro invited community partners to be guest readers, which included elected officials, university leaders, library representatives, Trinity Metro President & CEO Rich Andreski, and a local NBC co-anchor for the morning show. The agency also partnered with Atmos Energy and the Fort Worth Public Library to cover the cost of books so that each child could take a book home to enjoy again and again.

Another component of the campaign was inviting riders to download the GoPass app and use a promo code for half-off fares on the Storytime Train. This not only offered a great deal, but means those people now have a transit app on their phone to make it easy for them to ride again and explore some of the other services offered by Trinity Metro.

During the train adventure, children enjoyed listening to train-themed stories and also learning about train safety—and more about Trinity Metro’s services. Many raised their hand when asked if it was their first time on a train. At the end of the ride, children were asking when we could do this again. We are taking their feedback to heart and are exploring ways to offer more Storytime Trains in the future because we enjoyed the experience just as much as they did!