active measures as part of dialogue marketing promoting the use of public transport in rural areas

The SmartMove project is working to advance innovative marketing and mobility solutions in eight rural and peripheral European regions and is co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of the European Union. Through tailor-made strategies, it aims to provide information and encourage people to use public transport in their region. Sparsely populated rural areas in Europe are facing tremendous social changes due to shrinking and ageing populations. Because of the scattered settlement structure in these areas, the public transport network density is low and service frequency is often poor. The problems are exacerbated by increasing private car use, which, in a vicious circle, leads to further reductions in services. However, simple tools such as dialogue marketing and minor adjustments to scheduling can help change people’s perceptions. Dialogue marketing techniques have already been shown to increase passenger numbers by as much as 10 to 15 percent. Greater demand leads to higher revenues, making it possible to improve the system and attract even more passengers, turning the vicious circle into a positive loop.