By re-thinking the look of a standard summons alone, the failure-to-appear rate for people who received the redesigned paperwork dropped by 13%.  Many of the tickets also collected cell phone numbers from the defendants, allowing the city to try some text interventions. Together, the new summons and text reminders caused a 36% drop in those skipping court.

Texting people reminders makes them more likely to show up for court, according to a pilot program in New York City.

After a pilot testing which messages work best, the city reports it has cut failure-to-appear rates by 26 percent.

New York City’s pilot program of texting reminders to people about upcoming court dates has been a success so far, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. 

Borrowing techniques from the advertising world, city officials consulted with behavioral economists who redesigned the tickets.