Friday, March 06, 2009

Monona Transit? UPDATED AND CORRECTED

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As I was driving along Monona Drive this morning a Monona Transit bus went by in the other direction. I caught a glimpse of the new look - the buses are now readily identifiable as serving Monona. Very nice, but did my eyes deceive me or was that the proposed new logo on its side?

Please read Alder Speight's response in the comments. The logo on the bus is not the proposed new logo.

Click here for the Monona Express Schedule.
Posted by Doug Wood on 3/06/2009

8 comments:

  1. Monona ChadFriday, March 06, 2009

    The enhanced bus graphics are NOT based on the any "new" logo for the city. The new lettering and graphics on the bus were approved by the Transit Commission based on graphics designed by Geebo Design. We asked Brett to utilize the existing (old) logo themes, while also accomplishing two important goals which the Transit Commission identified as vital to improve our service, and to enhance our marketing. 1. The words "Monona Transit" would be prominently plastered on all sides of our buses, so that riders would be able to identify the buses more easily as the buses approach bus stops. 2. Any graphics featured would be based on themes from the original logos, while also promoting our service and enhancing the look of the buses.

    The committee considered a few prototypes, and selected the design that was used. We chose the waves rather than straight lines, consistent with our existing logo, but the stripes/waves are designed simply to enhance the look of the bus. If anyone is reminded of the new logo, this was not intentional.

    In the past, the Transit committee has spent its entire marketing budget on brochures and newspaper advertising, but we decided during the summer to use our marketing funds to improve the look of the buses, and to update the image of our transit services overall, by adding good graphics on the buses, and then updating the bus stops and other marketing. Newspaper advertising was reduced, and we have been developing these plans to improve the look of Transit in Monona.

    We are excited about the new look, and we hope that citizens will be proud to see the enhanced look, and consider taking the bus to commute to downtown, or to run errands around Lake Monona during the day.

    Lastly, I always feel compelled to point out the tremendous value which transit provides to our taxpayers. For only $4/taxpayer /year, Monona provides an excellent commuter service AND daytime transit options which include door-to-door service for our senior citizens and the disabled. Those who use the service can save thousands of dollars a year in transportation expenses. Be believe that all citizens who might benefit from this service should be aware of it.

    Our contract with First Transit includes a marketing allowance which is managed by the committee. Our past marketing has been rather low-profile, and the committee decided that the time had come to improve the image of Monona Transit. We hope you like it!

    Alderman Chad Speight
    Chairperson, Transit Commission

    ReplyDelete
  2. Doug WoodFriday, March 06, 2009

    Thanks for clearing that up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSaturday, March 07, 2009

    Good. You had me scared there, that you were using the logo that I thought had been roundly shot down.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Doug WoodSaturday, March 07, 2009

    I gave my editor the day off and look what happens.

    (No, I don't really have an editor; just cracking wise).

    But like I told Chad, if I had an editor she would have told me not to publish until I knew the facts.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSunday, March 08, 2009

    I was looking for the Monona Transit schedule on the city web-site. I couldn't find it. Maybe there needs to be a link from the city homepage.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Monona ChadSunday, March 08, 2009

    The link to the transit schedule is hard to find, but the soon to be remodeled website should be a LOT easier. In the meantime, look under city departments, mass transit, monona express. http://www.monona.wi.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={8FA9E8F5-6C05-4A7D-B245-469ED6632FC6}&DE={D18C0E71-A56A-4EC7-8517-CDB8CDA925EE} This is the link, but it looks like it may not work.

    City Departments
    mass transit
    monona express

    Hope that helps.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousFriday, March 13, 2009

    Just what we need in Monona, ANOTHER logo! So much for marketing our city...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Doug WoodFriday, March 13, 2009

    Well, Negative Nedley, have you *seen* the new look?

    Sleek and spiffy. Noticeable. Not grungy.

    ReplyDelete

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