CIVITAS: The Brighton & Hove Experience Giving Buses the Wow Factor First Annual Sustainable Mobility Convention 21 September 2010 Park Plaza Hotel, London Victoria Pat Stringer, Commercial Manager Brighton & Hove Bus Company

Brighton & Hove – The City Population of 250,000 Youthful demographics 2 universities and many colleges and language schools Large tourism base – 8 million visitors per year Hemmed in by South Downs and sea – only way is up! Brighton & Hove – The Bus Company 275 vehicles, 1,100 employees Up to 1 million passenger journeys per week All vehicles low floor - £3.5million investment each year Partnership with city council to proactively promote bus use

What is Marketing? Encompasses everything – the bus, the driver, the timetable, bus stop, fares. What else? Give the WOW FACTOR! Branding – specific routes Fares - make it simple! Brand – the company! Promotion – needs to be prominent General promotion – spread the word Bus Sides and rears

Further enhancements Always on going – new brands launched – Coaster, Regency, Shuttle. New marketing initiatives launched, price promotions on the internet. Promotion of integrated tickets – PlusBus, First Capital Connect and Southern Saver. Customer service – first impressions count together with how you react when things go wrong – need 100% commitment to it! Company aspiration – essential travel for our city. Professional image application Attention to detail – constantly! Next – Smartcards! Possibilities endless.

What do we do to influence their travel choice? Campaign Targeting Tourists Children Students Motorists – biggest target! What do we do to influence their travel choice? Brand bus routes prominently Highlight frequency Leaflets and timetables available widely Website – www.buses.co.uk Messages on buses Offer discounted tickets to employers Work with city council on bus priorities Real-time information – another partnership

Key Barriers to Use Lack of product/service knowledge – some people still buy 1 Day Savers every day! In-car comfort – some people will never give up using their car BUT We will always do everything we can to persuade them to do so!

We’ve worked to dispel all these! Myths about Bus Travel Expensive Unreliable Infrequent Old buses Miserable drivers Not for business people We’ve worked to dispel all these!

Other Marketing Offers Bus Times – 200k copies every year – the complete “how to use buses” guide, constantly being refreshed Pocket Bus Times – same amount, more for tourists Information at stops (comprehensive, printed and real-time) – should be a given! Fares – keep it simple Drivers – friendly! Frequencies – every few minutes AND the best web address – www.buses.co.uk

Consumers Today Very bargain orientated – but want high quality too. We provide this – high frequency of service, better than average new buses at a reasonable price. Always want more – give a 6 minute service – they want a 5 minute service! 3. Give them the best information possible 24/7 – via web, buses, bus stops and customer service hotline – no excuses for not having any of these!

Internet Offers – Viral Marketing Viral marketing really taken off – My Space, Facebook, Twitter etc. Although we are not on any of these, our special offers have appeared on sites such as these within minutes of the offers going out. Kicked off with 24-hour offer November 2008 for a 7 Day ticket for £7 – 12,000 orders! Followed up with further orders for 7 day tickets, one month tickets and 3 month tickets Now have a huge database of customers that we can communicate with in an instant, and will continue to do so.

Market Research Feedback/complaints/compliments – all free! On-bus surveys Surveys undertaken by newspapers/magazines Mystery Traveller reports Bus Users UK – active supporter Surveys to internet customers Passenger Focus – 92% satisfaction!

So……. Why Market Buses? Why Not!!!! Brighton & Hove CIVITAS So……. Why Market Buses? Why Not!!!! Need constant attention to detail and commitment from everyone across the business Always looking to make sure everything is right, including: Website Real-time information Timetable displays/information at stops Branding complete on vehicles Cleanliness Use the service yourself!

Thank you! Pat Stringer, Commercial Manager Brighton & Hove Bus Company Pat.Stringer@buses.co.uk www.buses.co.uk