First Bus, has joined forces with sustainable transport group, Greener Journeys, to promote its annual campaign, ‘Catch the Bus Week’. The campaign, which takes place from 29 June – 5 July, aims to drive awareness of the benefits of taking the bus.
This year First Bus is hosting events across the country. In North England First will use Catch the Bus Week as a launch pad for some important announcements, such as the official unveiling of brand new buses in Halifax. Meanwhile high profile announcements concerning customer friendly improvements in Bolton and York are also expected.
In Wales, there will be First Bus Catch the Bus Week activities the entire week. First Cymru, amongst a range of initiatives, will launch its Customer Charter and Cymru Commitment along with a competition for drivers - prizes will be awarded to drivers who achieve the most customer commendations during the week.
Activities are planned every day in West of England too. A First Bus Wheel of Fortune will take centre stage across the region. Customers can take a spin to win prizes ranging from free First Day tickets to pens, bags and key-chains.
Across the UK there are lots of other customer competitions. In First Aberdeen for instance passengers can win a three month ticket if they tweet a photo of their bus ticket and complete the sentence: “I like getting the bus because…”.. Similar social media related competitions are planned in the Solent, Dorset, the West of England, Essex and Eastern Counties.
Customers and the general public will also benefit from ticket promotions. In Sheffield a ‘Bus Boost’ scheme, supported by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, will target car users providing them with travel taster tickets. In the Midlands and Essex street teams will be touring the network handing out free day tickets to customers, while non bus users will be targeted with free travel vouchers. The York Park and Ride will run a ticket promotion, while the West of England throughout the week will focus on family and group ticket promotions.
Across the UK First Bus managers will be out and about meeting customers. ‘Meet the Manager’ sessions are planned on board buses, in bus stations and on-line in places such as Aberdeen, Manchester, Swansea, Bath and other locations. Meanwhile customer panels, customer focus days and bus surgeries are also taking place in Essex, Oldham, Bury, the MIdlands and Doncaster.
Giles Fearnley, Managing Director of First Bus said: “Catch the Bus Week is a wonderful initiative which grows stronger each year.
“At First Bus we are using the week as an opportunity to showcase the very best of bus travel and highlight just how convenient, reliable and affordable using the bus can be. We’ll be talking about: our investment in new buses; the explosion of free wi-fi to our services in recent years; the introduction of m-Ticketing, allowing customers to use mobile phones as bus tickets; and a range of other initiatives that have helped us increase passenger numbers.
“We’ve got a comprehensive and exciting programme of events planned across our local businesses during Catch the Bus Week. I’m very much looking forward to taking part.”