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The 2023 Florida Travel Choices Awards were presented at 2023 Florida Commuter Transportation Virtual Summit on April 7, 2023.
The Florida Travel Choices Awards recognizes excellence in Florida public transportation in three categories:
- Marketing Excellence
- Innovative Program
- Leadership
Marketing Excellence Award
Recognizing excellence in Florida public transportation-related marketing including advertising campaigns, electronic media, print media and special events.
2023 Award Winner:
reThink Your Commute
Retro Look
The objective of reThink Your Commute’s Retro Look campaign is to convey the benefits of alternative transportation that commuters might not otherwise consider. The campaign illustrates the mental health benefits of avoiding traffic and taking the opportunity to observe your surroundings while riding a bus. Additionally, the campaign was designed to reflect classic Florida landscapes and highlight the unique communities in District 5. To give the campaign an authentic look, reThink Your Commute contracted Orlando artist Kelly Williams-Cramer. Kelly drew inspiration from the Depression-era Works Progress Administration series created for the National Parks Service. Her first creation depicts a young woman riding the bus while watching a rocket launch out of the window, a nod to the Space Coast community. The artwork was made into posters and reusable bags being distributed throughout District 5. Kelly has also adapted the artwork to feature Lake County for a park and ride billboard in that area. Kelly’s art is also being used for brand assets on reThink Your Commute’s social media. Quarterly social media themes highlighting different commute modes have been identified and Kelly will create additional art for multimodal commuting, working from home, and carpooling/vanpooling. The campaign has received universally positive feedback, which is difficult to quantify. However, since the campaign’s implementation, the program has seen measurable results in social media engagement featuring the art and continued growth in app usage.
Innovative Program Award
The Innovation Award is given to a Florida public transportation system, commuter assistance program, transportation management organization or other Florida entity that has designed and implemented specific public transportation-related programs that demonstrate innovative concepts or effective problem-solving techniques. The program should be of proven value and adaptable for use by others.
2023 Award Winner:
Hurricane Ian Disaster Response
Commute with Enterprise
Arlinda Karuli
District 1 utilized the vanpools through the Commute with Enterprise contract to provide evacuation services to worksites on Sanibel before Hurricane Ian. Once employees were allowed back on the island, D1 coordinated with the City Manager to secure prioritization of the vanpools as they crossed the bridge to decrease congestion, while encouraging use. This secured the vanpools priority for bridge access to get hospitality staff, cleaning crews, landscape and grocery store workers back to work to restore services. Their efforts contributed not only to get employees to safety prior to this major disaster, but contributed to the economic recovery and restoring of services on the island. Because of Arlinda’s thorough understanding of the contract and constraints, she was able to lead this work creating new connections with diverse employers and introducing them to the program potentially contributing to growing the vanpool program. Great job Arlinda!
Leadership Award
The Leadership Award honors a Florida individual who has made outstanding contributions to the public transportation industry. This award may be conferred upon a public transportation policy maker or private citizen who has made outstanding contributions to public transportation at the local or state level.
2023 Award Winner:
Michelle Peronto
Florida Department of Transportation, District 1
Through the program that Michelle manages, District 1 utilized the vanpools through the Commute with Enterprise contract to provide evacuation services to worksites on Sanibel before Hurricane Ian. Once employees were allowed back on the island, D1 coordinated with the City Manager to secure prioritization of the vanpools as they crossed the bridge to decrease congestion, while encouraging use. This secured the vanpools priority for bridge access to get hospitality staff, cleaning crews, landscape, and grocery store workers back to work to restore services. Their efforts contributed not only to get employees to safety prior to this major disaster but contributed to the economic recovery and restoring of services on the island. Through this work, Michelle’s team created new connections with diverse employers introducing them to the program and potentially contributing to growing the vanpool program. Had it not been for Michelle’s understanding of the CAP requirements and her willingness to allow this innovation, the Sanibel workers would not have received this valuable service and some of this new employer partnerships would not have been possible particularly because some of the businesses are smaller than what the program normally targets. Great job Michelle!
