I grew up in San Francisco, where taking public transit was just a part of every day life. In fact, every one of us at Circa got our start in big cities – which means all of us are accustomed to using public transit as our main way to get around. Subways, buses, ferries, express trains, slow trains… we’ve done it all, with all the experiences that go along with it.
We’re huge supporters of public transit. So it’s pretty darn cool that as of 2026, transit has developed into one of Circa’s strongest categories.
Aloha, Oahu!
Our latest agency-of-record contract is with Oʻahu Transit Services, operator of TheBus—one of the most heavily used bus systems in the United States on a per-capita basis. Hawaiʻi’s cultural nuances, unique island commuting patterns, and incredibly diverse ridership have created a rich platform for brand and campaign development. We’ve just completed the FY26–27 marketing plan and are beginning to build the next wave of campaigns. More to come!
We Speak Teen
Closer to home, we recently created a campaign for Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) promoting their Summer Youth Ride Free program.
Middle and high school students represent a large share of Wheels ridership during the school year. But when school lets out, so does a big portion of those trips.
So the goal was simple: keep the buses full when school is out.
We Also Speak Mom
But with parents as the decision makers, we couldn’t only speak to teens and tweens. So we tapped into consumer insights (parental exhaustion everywhere) to come up with something motivating:
The campaign ran across print, radio, digital and social and exceeded performance goals, while generating a surprising amount of positive feedback from parents happy to hand over the keys for the summer.
Public transit works hard — from helping the environment to easing traffic. But most importantly, it gets us where want to go.
For me, growing up in San Francisco, that “somewhere” was often a Giants game at the Stick.
Turns out the more things change, the more they stay the same.
