The South West Transit Association (SWTA) recently presented VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority with a Spotlight Award for the agency’s “VIVA Passport to Adventure” marketing campaign, and a Hit The Spot Award for its “VIAWorks Corporate Rideshare Brochure and Inserts.”

The “VIVA Passport to Adventure” campaign, a partnership program designed to incentivize and add value for the VIA rider to increase ridership among visitors and local tourists, was chosen for the First Place Spotlight Award for the category of providers with more than 20 million passenger trips annually. The VIVA Passport debuted in fall 2017, and it has earned the support of over 30 major partners that operate along the VIVA corridors, including museums, restaurants, parks, the iconic Alamo, and more.

The VIAWorks Corporate Rideshare Brochure and Inserts were designed to educate employers and their employees about the benefits of using VIA’s EZ Ride and Business Pass. The programs provide solutions to companies who want to subsidize the amount of money spent on employee parking as well as offer an alternative mode of transportation for employees. The winning entry also included a detailed piece on VIA’s Vanpool services, which gives multiple employees the opportunity to ride together.

VIA also received the annual Public Transportation Marketing Excellence Award for the second time in three years, which recognized efforts developed in-house by its Marketing and Communications team. The awards were presented to VIA at SWTA’s Annual Marketing Conference and Spotlight Awards ceremony, held July 25 and 26 in Oklahoma City. Manager of Marketing Promotions Steve Cerna accepted the awards on behalf of VIA.

SWTA is a regional transit association with members from eight states (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas). SWTA’s mission is to provide a community of education, communication, and advocacy to strengthen its members and their ability to better provide public transportation services and products in the communities they serve.

Photo Above: South West Transit Association Executive Director Kristen Joyner (left), and Marketing and Communications Specialist Elisa Manion present VIA Manager of Marketing Promotions Steve Cerna with the Spotlight Award for VIA’s ‘VIVA Passport to Adventure’ and the annual award for Public Transportation Marketing Excellence on July 26, 2018.