Drive for excellence (dfe), a new concept in employee-based marketing for public transportation, applies to public transportation many of the management principles discussed by tom peters in his book "thriving on chaos". The dfe program uses teams of front-line employees, who are given the responsibility and authority (including budget authority) to implement projects aimed at increasing ridership. Implemented at two large agencies to date, the program has proven successful in increasing ridership. It has also been successful in improving employee morale, fostering interdepartmental cooperation, improving customer relations, and enhancing public relations. The structure and implementation of the dfe program, as well as the evaluation methods used to monitor ridership and program performance, are described. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1266, Urban public transportation research 1990.
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