Light Rail System Name Announced
Dec. 10, 2003
PHOENIX, AZ - After an exhaustive search for the best name for the Valley's
light rail system - which included 3,400 suggestions from the community and
extensive research on the public's opinions of possible names - Valley Metro
Rail officials announced today that the light rail system will be called Metro.
Mayor Skip Rimsza, chairman of the Valley Metro Rail Board, announced the
name at a news conference this afternoon.
"Light rail is the community's plan, and the community said they liked Metro,"
said Rimsza. "In fact, it was the No. 1 name submitted in our naming contest."
Valley Metro Rail officials say that in the research conducted on possible
names, Metro had strong, broad community appeal and was also preferred by
existing transit riders and future rail riders. Survey results showed the
name Metro was preferred because it is timeless, regional, easy-to-remember
and clearly conveys transit. The survey also showed that the community believed
the name Metro best fits with the existing transit service name Valley Metro.
"Metro is a proven transit system name throughout the world," said Rimsza.
"From LA to Washington D.C. to Paris, when people hear METRO, they think of
trains and public transportation."
At the news conference, Ben Bethel of Phoenix was recognized for being the
first person to submit the name Metro in the agency's naming contest. He received
a VIP pass on the inaugural train and a one-year pass on the system when it
opens.
Valley Metro Rail received an overwhelming response to its "Name the Train
Campaign" earlier this year to get the public's suggestions for the name of
the light rail system. The light rail office received more than 3,400 individual
entries for the campaign, representing more than 7,000 total names. While
many of the names were duplicates, rail officials estimated that they received
at least 3,000 unique names.
Valley Metro Rail is a non-profit, public corporation overseeing the design,
construction and operation of the light rail system. Construction on the Valley's
light rail system is scheduled to begin by summer 2004.
Media Contact:
