A video promoting Santa Cruz Metro’s “One Ride at a Time” campaign, which showcases the agency’s efforts to support environmentally sustainable transit, won the California Association of Public Information Officials’ 2025 STAR Award for Best Promotion of a Public Agency.
The “One Ride at a Time” campaign features Metro buses wrapped with images of Santa Cruz County’s natural wonders including redwood trees, otters and whales in Monterey Bay and monarch butterflies, and encourages readers to track their rides to earn donations to local nonprofits dedicated to protecting the environment, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and the Bay of Life Fund.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see ‘One Ride at a Time’ continue to resonate — not just with our riders, but with the broader community and our colleagues across the industry,” Danielle Frost, Metro’s chief communications & marketing officer, said of the award, presented Oct. 2 at a ceremony in Long Beach. “Our goal with this campaign was to spark a deeper understanding of how public transit supports environmental sustainability and quality of life. We’re proud that our marketing efforts are helping educate and inspire, one ride at a time.”
Metro received honorable mentions for its “How to Ride” videos, which aim to make transit easier for first-time riders, and the “Next Stop” video series that dives into local destinations, stories from riders and behind-the-scenes moments from the Metro team.
The “One Ride at a Time” campaign gives Santa Cruz County transit users the chance to protect its natural resources by riding the bus. Since January 2023, every logged ride on a Metro bus has been donated to local nonprofit partners to protect the environment. All riders have to do is ride the bus and log their rides. As part of the incentive program, run by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC), GO Santa Cruz will make a financial contribution to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Bay of Life Fund.
For more information on Metro, visit scmetro.org; to learn more about Metro’s “One Ride at a Time” program, visit scmetro.org/onerideatatime.
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