A Community-Based Social Marketing Campaign to Promote Sustainable Transportation at a University Campus

Background and Situation Analysis Transportation accounts for 28% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) commuting representing a behavioral challenge on some university campuses. At a large public university in the southeastern United States, most upperclassmen live off-campus and frequently commute by car despite access to a fare-free city-operated bus system funded in part by student fees. Formative research revealed that driving was perceived as the social norm and default option, associated with convenience, flexibility, and independence. Informational barriers, confusion between commuter buses and inner campus shuttles (ICS), and distrust of transit technology further limited bus adoption. The Dukes Ride campaign was developed to address these barriers using community-based social marketing (CBSM) principles within institutional and infrastructure constraints. Priority Audience(s) The primary audience was off-campus undergraduate commuters who rely on SOVs. A secondary audience included first-year students, targeted early to establish sustainable commuting norms before off-campus transitions. Indirect stakeholders included transportation, housing, student leadership, and sustainability partners. Behavioral Objectives The intervention sought to (1) decrease reliance on SOV commuting among off-campus students, (2) increase awareness and understanding of commuter bus routes, (3) strengthen intentions to use fare-free buses, and (4) increase adoption of bus commuting as a primary or supplemental mode of transportation. Strategy/Intervention Planning and Development Using intercept surveys (n = 176) and focus groups (n = 56), the campaign identified benefits, including cost savings, sustainability, and reduced parking stress, and barriers, including knowledge gaps, perceived inconvenience, norms, and structural constraints. (1) Product : Fare-free commuter bus routes with maps, tailored housing packets, route cards, and instructional videos. (2) Price : Reduced psychological costs through education, route clarification, and incentives tied to pledges. (3) Place : Materials distributed through housing complexes, housing fairs, bus shelters, tabling events, and a campaign webpage. (4) Promotion : School-spirit branding, credible campus figures, social media, Dukes Ride Week, pledges, incentives, and cross-campus partnerships. Evaluation Methods and Results Three tracking surveys ( N = 453 across three time points) assessed awareness and perceptions. Unprompted campaign recall increased from 23% to 53%, and aided recall of the campaign name increased from 8% to 32%. Agreement that bus rides are fare-free significantly increased ( p = .011), although the effect size was small and baseline agreement was already high. Convenience and environmental perceptions remained stable. Self-reported primary transportation mode remained stable, suggesting limited evidence of behavior change during the first year. Follow-up pledge survey findings indicated high satisfaction among riders but limited recruitment of new users, suggesting reinforcement effects more than behavior change. Given the cross-sectional design and low pledge follow-up response rate, findings should be interpreted cautiously. Recommendations for Social Marketing Practice Transportation-focused CBSM campaigns should pair branding and normative messaging with navigation support, reliable transit tools, and structural supports . Institutional partnerships and visible leadership endorsement enhance credibility. Sustained implementation, infrastructure alignment, and stronger evaluation designs using longitudinal tracking or objective ridership data are necessary to move from awareness gains to durable behavior change.