After the COVID-19 pandemic, Emery Go-Round faced a prolonged ridership plateau, with growth stagnating at just 3.2% annually. ALTRANS implemented a targeted outreach and marketing strategy combining in-person engagement and digital campaigns to reintroduce the service to the community. Within six months, ridership growth climbed to 14.5% and culminated in a 44.7% year-over-year increase. This case study demonstrates how proactive engagement can transform transit recovery.
For over twenty years, the Emery Go-Round (EGR) has functioned as the primary transit artery for Emeryville, California. As a free, last-mile shuttle service funded by the Emeryville Transportation Management Association (ETMA), it provides the essential link between the MacArthur BART station and the city’s major employment and retail centers. While the service was a model of urban mobility prior to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced an unprecedented disruption, leading to a recovery period that, for several years, remained frustratingly slow.
The Challenge
By 2023 and 2024, the Emery Go-Round was caught in a cycle of marginal gains. While the world had returned to “normal,” the shuttle ridership, like that of most transit systems, remained far below its historic peaks.
Throughout 2023, monthly totals often hovered between 34,000 and 48,000, and by early 2025, the recovery seemed to have a plateaued. The average year-over-year growth rate was only 3.2%, and several months in the first half of 2025 actually saw ridership dip below 2024 levels. It became clear that simply maintaining the status quo was not enough to bring commuters and residents back to the service.
The Solution
In September 2025, ALTRANS TMA, acting as the Executive Director for the Transportation Management Association (TMA), launched a new strategy to move beyond passive service and transition into active outreach. The goal was to re-introduce the shuttle to a workforce and resident base that had shifted its habits over the previous five years.
The initiative focused on two primary areas:
- In-Person Outreach: ALTRANS, in collaboration with the Emery Go-Round operators, coordinated consistent tabling efforts at local events throughout Emeryville and neighboring communities. By setting up at these community events, the team provided face-to-face assistance, answered questions about routes, and distributed updated transit materials.
- Targeted Social Media: The ETMA launched seasonal social media campaigns designed to reach various segments of the community. These campaigns were strategically tailored to highlight the shuttle’s utility for a wide range of trip purposes, positioning the service as a reliable and stress-free option for reaching local destinations.
The Results
The impact of these initiatives was immediate and measurable, marking a total departure from the previous years’ trends. Starting in September 2025, the “slow recovery” was replaced by rapid, consistent growth. While the previous average growth rate had been negligible, the post-campaign average year-over-year growth jumped to 14.5% over the following six months.
The momentum built quickly through the final quarter of 2025. By December, ridership had surged to 48,559, which represented a 20.5% increase over the same month in the previous year. This success carried directly into 2026, where the numbers moved from impressive to historic. In February 2026, the service broke the 2,100 average daily rider threshold, representing a 31.6% increase over February 2025. The culmination of this strategic outreach was seen in March 2026, when total ridership reached a staggering 61,256, a 44.7% increase over the previous year.
The Future
Recognizing that consistent engagement is the key to long-term sustainability, ALTRANS has evolved its leadership strategy for 2026 and beyond. While ALTRANS will continue to manage the core social media marketing and grassroots in-person outreach that sparked this recovery, under their leadership, the ETMA has also engaged a professional marketing firm to implement semi-annual, multi-media marketing “pushes.”
These large-scale campaigns are designed to amplify the foundational work already in place, using a variety of media channels to keep the Emery Go-Round top-of-mind for both new residents and returning employees. By layering professional media pushes over consistent community engagement, ALTRANS is positioning the shuttle for a new era of high-capacity ridership.
Conclusion
The experience of the Emery Go-Round in 2025 and 2026 serves as a practical example of how transit programs can overcome a plateau in ridership. By moving beyond basic operations and focusing on direct community communication, ALTRANS Transportation Management Association, Inc helped turn a stalled recovery into a period of record-breaking success. The data proves that for modern transit, active marketing and community presence are just as essential as the service itself.
Is your transit or shuttle program stuck in a slow recovery?
In a post-pandemic landscape, simply providing a service is no longer enough; you must actively engage your audience. ALTRANS TMA specializes in bridging the gap between operations and outreach to shift commuter habits and drive measurable results. Contact us today to discover how our management and marketing strategies can revitalize your transportation initiatives, or to request a customized program assessment.
Is your transit program stuck in a slow recovery?
In a post-pandemic landscape, simply providing a service is no longer enough; you must actively engage your audience. ALTRANS TMA specializes in bridging the gap between operations and outreach to shift commuter habits and drive measurable results. Contact us today to discover how our management and marketing strategies can revitalize your transportation initiatives, or to request a customized program assessment.