Drive for cellence (DFE) a new concept in employee-based marketing for public tnmsponatiou, applies 10 public transportation many of the management principles discus. ed by Tom Peters in hi book Thriving 011 Chaos. The DFE program uses teams of front-line employees, wh ar given the responsibility and authority (including budget authority) to implement project. aimed at increasing ridership. Implemented al two lal'ge agencie to date. the program ha proven ucces ful in increasing ridership. It has al o been successful in improving employee morale, fo tering interdepartmental c operation, imprO\~ ng cu· tomer relations, and enhancing public relation. The tructure and implementation of the DFE program as well a the evaluation method used to monitor rider hip and program performance, are described.

Most transit agencies in the United States would admit to facing a ridership cri is. Decreasing ga oline prices and suburbanizati n have resulted in increased use of the singleoccupan y vehicle and decreased use of public transportation. As public transportation ha lost market share, communitie have also lost out through increased tl'affic congestion and aJ1 increased burden on l'he infra tructure of aging roads. Ironically the response that many policy-making bodies have taken. i co decrease resource for developing and mark ting public lranspo. rtation because of decreasing ridership. The pressure to increa e rider hip n public trat1sportation, therefore has never been greater. Throughout the nation tra11sit agencies arc attempting illnovativt: approache to increase ridership. The transit indu try i being transformed a. agencies begin to restructure ervicc, penetrate new market niches, and respond in myriad ways to the changing market demand.