Originally called The Regional Rideshare Program, WAY TO GO remains dedicated to the original goals of the program — keeping our air clean, reducing congestion and increasing jobs access around the region—but, we also believe in evolving to ensure we are best serving the region.
Our Process
Embodying this commitment, our program conducted an extensive audience research, brand visioning and strategic planning process. This came after years of consideration, peer research and discussion among staff and regional partners.
We Conducted
- Surveys of our community, including users in our ride matching system, Guaranteed Ride Home program, past Green Commute Challenge participants and regional transportation leaders.
- Interviews with partners, including mobility providers, chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, business associations and community improvement districts.
- Commuter Roundtables on Zoom with residents from around the region sharing their experiences using a variety of transportation options.
- An Employer Roundtable on Zoom with employers around the region from a range of industries discussing transportation challenges facing their workforce.
What We Heard
- People are overwhelmed with trying to navigate transportation options in the region.
- They want to learn more about their options and how to get their voices heard.
- Employers are interested in sustainable transportation from both hiring and retention perspectives, but also for meeting company-wide sustainability goals.
- Employers in the service, warehouse and distribution industries — who often have worksites in areas with low-transit access — struggle the most with hiring and retention due to transportation challenges for their workforce.
- Employers want to work together to increase their impact.
Another important takeaway from this research was that the word “rideshare,” a cornerstone for our program name through numerous iterations, was no longer serving our work. Now commonly used to describe ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, the term also doesn’t encompass all the transportation options that we want to connect people to and all the goals we want to accomplish.
The Future of our Brand
After workshopping a range of options, we decided on WAY TO GO. We believe the name WAY TO GO serves our program, communities and stakeholders for our region today, as well as years from now, no matter how transportation patterns and modes evolve. The name is empowering, supportive and hopeful about our future.
It is also a nod to our past. In the mid-1990s, MARC’s Rideshare program organized an event – called Way To Go – at Crown Center to convene all the transportation providers in the region and educate people on their options.
The Future of our Program
With our new brand also comes a fresh strategic direction for our program.
Our work is guided by our vision statement:
WAY TO GO envisions a region where sustainable transportation options are the best way to connect people and places. Sustainable transportation options are affordable, equitable, build community health and support economic opportunity.
The WAY TO GO program has four main objectives:
- Improve community health by reducing harmful emissions and congestion, and help commuters save money.
- Increase the usage of existing transportation solutions and build support for a network of robust services and options.
- Help Kansas City area employers maximize success and employee satisfaction while driving change across the region.
- Foster a culture around sustainable transportation.
We are supporters of all sustainable modes of transportation.
Carpooling is an effective, affordable and sustainable transportation solution for the region, but we know it’s not a one-size-fits-all fix. That’s why WAY TO GO is dedicated to helping people in the region easily navigate all sustainable modes of transportation. This includes riding transit, biking, walking and scooting, as well as carpooling and vanpooling. We think this place we call home is very special and deserves more than a drive-alone culture.
We want to help you get where you’re going, no matter the destination.
Commuting remains our priority, but people have many places to go in their daily lives. In addition to getting to work, we also need reliable ways to get to the grocery store, the doctor, daycare, school, restaurants and stores. We need greener ways to connect with nature, social events and places where we can be in community with one another.
To increase the usage of our current transportation options and build support for an expanded system, we need to take a holistic approach to transportation. This is why we are launching the new and improved WAY TO GO app (available on iOS, Android and web). On the app, people can see all of their transportation options in one place, whether they want to find a carpool buddy or the location of the nearest RideKC Bike.
We are committed to serving the business community around the region.
Our metro area is home to an engaged, innovative and driven community of business leaders. To support both employers and their workforce, WAY TO GO offers a robust suite of consulting services to help employers reach sustainability goals and improve hiring, retention and workplace culture. We also connect employers with other leaders in similar geographies and industries to increase the impact of their work. The greatest successes come when we work together.
We are demystifying the world of transportation.
Our program staff often hears from community members that the transportation landscape is confusing in the region. What do all the acronyms mean? Who are each of the transportation providers, and how are they connected? How are funding decisions made? We’re here to help and will be hosting regular workshops and events to leave people feeling empowered and informed.
We are building a culture around sustainable transportation.
You may be familiar with the Green Commute Challenge, which will continue to be a cornerstone of our program, but we will also be hosting events throughout the year to anchor and connect our community. Keep an eye out for listening sessions, workshops, tours, happy hours and more ways to get involved and connected with other sustainability-minded individuals in the region.
How You Can Get Involved
- Follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)
- Download the WAY TO GO app on the App Store, Google Play or on the web at my.waytogokc.org.
- Spread the word! Tell your colleagues, networks, neighbors and friends about the WAY TO GO services and programs. Let’s strengthen this community.
Thank you for being here as we enter this new chapter. We’re excited to see what we can build together.
Sincerely,
The WAY TO GO Team
