MTA 'Sound The Horn' Campaign to Honor Transit Workers Moving Heroes on the Front Lines of the Pandemic
Target Audience: This campaign targeted the 5.8 million daily riders of the MTA's subways, buses and trains, as other NY metro transit providers, APTA, local and national media outlets, and other influencers.
Strategy Objective:The MTA saw the loss of more frontline transit workers to COVID-19 than any other public service group, such as NYPD and FDNY, eventually losing 130 souls to the disease. We felt compelled to recognize our 40,000+ frontline heroes for their ongoing efforts. We coordinated a ‘day of action' to have other regional transit providers simultaneously sound their fleets of train, bus and boat horns on April 16 to honor heroic transportation workers across the region. As a tribute to #HeroesMovingHeroes on the front lines of this public health crisis, all trains and buses running in service gave two one-second horn blasts at 3:00 p.m. in solidarity with partner agencies.
Situation Challenge: In March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown order gripped New York, daily ridership on NYC's subways and buses plummeted to less than 10% of pre-pandemic volume of 5.8 million daily riders. Yet Heroic transportation workers continued to provide critical transportation service for healthcare workers, first responders, childcare workers, grocery store employees and other heroes who are performing critically essential work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Transit workers were not being recognized by the public and the media for their heroic efforts.
Results Impact: On April 16, the MTA joined forces with Amtrak, NJ TRANSIT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NYC Ferry and other regional bus and ferry operators to launch the "Sound the Horn" campaign to reflect our colleagues' sacrifices to keep New Yorkers moving at the height of the pandemic. We worked with APTA to provide ready-made, customizable graphics to transit agencies across the country to raise awareness for their participation in a second day of action in June. Dozens of agencies large and small, from Boston to San Francisco to Hawaii, participated in the second "Sound the Horn" effort on May 21, and a third on June 18, capturing national media attention to give well-deserved recognition to transit workers as heroes in the fight against the pandemic.
Why Submit: "Sound the Horn" demonstrates how a simple idea can capture valuable earned media by using well-coordinated efforts to "go viral.". The effort also earned recognition for transit workers, who previously were not included in media mentions of heroes on the front lines of the pandemic.