Keolis Commuter Services operates the MBTA’s 12 Commuter Rail Lines serving eastern and central Massachusetts and Rhode Island. These trains stop at over 130 stations where riders can discover attractions, events, restaurants, and local businesses.
the challenge
Keolis Commuter Services sought to expand on a previous paid marketing campaign called Mass By Train, and wanted a website solution to promote leisure travel on the Commuter Rail. With Sperling being a leader in Massachusetts travel and tourism marketing and website development, they asked us to help shift commuter mindsets beyond using the Commuter Rail to get to and from work towards leisure travel opportunities, and help increase ridership to pre COVID-19 pandemic levels.
our solution
Sperling conducted research around the Commuter Rail’s four main target audiences–college students, young professionals, families with children, and retirees. These audiences seek an easy and stress-free way to explore things to do, may not own a car, or may simply want to avoid traffic and parking around the greater Boston area.
We then designed, developed and created content for Mass By Train, a website promoting leisure travel by train where site visitors can easily explore each line and station, regional event calendars, and things to do nearby each station. Itineraries and blogs were created to direct travelers to local attractions, restaurants, and businesses that are within a mile of each train station. The website also provides information about where to buy train tickets, ADA accessibility, special events, and travel deals.
Sperling also produced video and photo content for the site. Our team traveled around the Commuter Rail system, capturing a sense of place and producing video profiles of riders who communicate the value proposition of taking the train–it’s a stress-free commute where you can focus on spending time with your friends and family rather than worrying about other drivers, traffic and parking. Content from these video and photography shoots are used throughout the website as well as in email newsletters and targeted digital marketing efforts.
To further drive site engagement and brand awareness around a new station opening, Sperling produced content and partnered with media personalities Pari and Tina. Through this collaboration, Pari’s natural enthusiasm for the Commuter Rail helped reinforce key value propositions, increasing overall brand sentiment. Sperling used the footage to promote the New Bedford Station opening, fueling new site content, paid campaigns, and expanding reach to new audiences through Pari’s fan base.
the results
Sperling set out to grow engagement on the line and station pages across the site through paid and organic search. In comparison to the same period in 2025:
43 %
increase
in organic traffic
73 %
increase
in page views
64 %
increase
in engaged sessions