EMGO Bus Service

When I interviewed for the Emmet County Communications Director job in October 2018, the County Administrator said the top priority for the position in the first few months would be to help him with the upcoming launch of the county’s expanded bus service. Though the County had contracted with a neighboring county to provide limited dial-a-ride service for the previous 20 years, county commissioners had voted earlier in 2018 to expand service. That expanded service would include three extra bus routes that they decided to give its own name, EMGO. A marketing company and website development company had been hired with approval already given for the logo and style guide so my job would be to help get the word out and educate the public about it. While it was far from the only projects on our plates, the County Administrator and I were the only County employees working on EMGO, with $25,000 marketing budget.

The ridership started off slow since it launched on Jan. 2, early on in a northern Michigan winter which saw 155 inches of snowfall. The service was also a politically controversial topic as it had no independent funding source and was taking over $225,000 from an already-tight general fund. Two of the new county commissioners, who began their terms on Jan. 1, 2019, were opposed to the service from the start. Another commissioner, who represented the most rural and least populated area of the county, was also opposed to the service as she felt her constituents were paying for something they would not be using. Emmet County officials had little ability to make any changes to the contracted service with the neighboring county and EMGO routes were serviced by that county’s branded buses. Despite the repeated negative discussions at commissioner meetings and the confusing situation with the service contract, we were able to meet the ridership goals set for EMGO before I started my position. The service seemed to be moving in a positive direction when COVID-19 changed everything. With safety precautions and health department restrictions in place, as well as businesses closed, ridership fell off drastically for several months. Numbers were starting to improve in late summer 2020 as commissioners were faced with whether to discontinue service or put the bus transit issue before the voters with a ballot initiative proposing a new millage to fund it. The commissioners declined to renew the contract for the expanded routes and EMGO service ceased on Dec. 31, 2020. Local county activist groups continue to work to get a dedicated public transit service going again in Emmet County.

After contracts ended with the initial marketing company, I was tasked with coming up with marketing material. I had several trade shows and other events on the schedule for 2020, but COVID canceled all of them. Below are some of the EMGO promotional items I created, ordered, and distributed. Advertising space was purchased in local newspapers, guides, and for event sponsorships. We also had video commercials playing at the local theater and on a digital signage network that ran on TVs in local businesses and hotels.