Promoting bus travel
Promoting bus travel is important both to business growth and more sustainable travel.
We have a dedicated sales team that works actively with a range of organisations to develop green travel plans and encourage employees not to travel to work by car.
- During the last twelve months we worked with Port Talbot County Council to develop a green travel plan as part of their move to new office accommodation. An existing service is now diverted past the new offices and discounted travel is offered to staff who buy an annual pass.
- In Essex we are partners in Southend Move Easy, a network of travel plan co-ordinators from local organisations such as businesses, the hospital and the local universities.
- In Devon and Cornwall we have worked with Western Mortgage Services to implement their travel plan. Yearly passes and discounted tickets were offered and promoted to staff. To date, 10% of the workforce has taken up these offers. We also work closely with The South West Probation Agency and the University of Plymouth providing similar support and travel offers.
- In Eastern Counties we collaborate with a range of organisations on green travel planning, including the University of East Anglia, City College in Norwich, Norwich City Council and a number of private sector organisations. We assist in developing travel pass schemes and help with the promotion and marketing of these schemes to employees.
Students represent an important market for us and we work closely with universities across the country to promote our services and engage with students and staff to ensure that our services meet local needs. We have for example worked with Swansea Metropolitan University on green travel planning. We have introduced a new dedicated service linking Keele University and the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. In Essex we have introduced a special £99 annual fare for university students. A similar scheme at the University of East Anglia has seen the annual ticket sales for students and staff rise from 1,200 to 3,200 per annum with 23% of the campus population now purchasing a ticket.
New routes are another way to attract new passengers. This year we introduced the Lenzie Express service aimed at taking commuters into Glasgow. It has been heavily marketed to both existing bus users and non-bus users in areas of high car ownership. Over the course of the marketing campaign the service has seen between 45% and 65% growth.
In Swansea we introduced new bus routes to a new prestigious office development, based on discussions with various stakeholders on likely transport needs. In developing the routes we worked with the development Travel Forum and the Assembly Government.
These specific initiatives are supported by wide-ranging marketing campaigns to attract more customers. These include use of our Car Quit Kit where recipients are offered a free travel ticket and our Small Change Big Difference campaign. This is aimed at encouraging people to make small scale shifts to public transport by considering its use for weekly or monthly journeys and considering the environmental benefits they promote by doing this.