Octa's transportation blog

Holiday Treasures Attracts New Metrolink Riders

Holiday Treasures, a special online guide to festive spots and events near Metrolink stations, proved popular with Orange County residents who enthusiastically completed a short survey for a chance to win Metrolink tickets and a grand prize.

By visiting metrolinktreasures.com and clicking on destinations on the interactive holiday map, visitors discovered shops, restaurants and events within walking distance of Metrolink stations. Discounts for Metrolink ticket holders were highlighted. 

The Treasures concept was first introduced as part of a summer campaign, when thousands of individuals entered a sweepstakes and explored OCTA’s interactive website about Metrolink travel. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2015, when the summer campaign was active, Metrolink average weekend ridership rose on both the OC Line (up 16.8 percent Saturday, 12 percent Sunday) and the IEOC Line (rising 3.3 percent Saturday and 8.1 percent Sunday). 

Because the summer campaign was so successful, the website received a festive makeover and was re-introduced as Holiday Treasures. Special winter activities, such as tree lightings and ice-skating, were added. Businesses in San Juan Capistrano donated gift cards and tickets for a new grand prize valued at $250. 

While it’s still too early to tell the complete impact of Holiday Treasures, it’s clear that the campaign was successful in attracting attention and new riders. There were more than 15,000 web visits to metrolinktreasures.com from December 2014 through mid-January of this year. More than 300,000 were engaged on social media, and the majority (80 percent) of participants said they used Metrolink infrequently. 

Seven Summer Treasures

 
 Holiday Treasures