red arrow goes wireless
- and leather too.

In a move guaranteed to raise bus industry eyebrows, coaches less than 4 years old will be stripped out and refitted in a major update for our famous red arrow brand. Leather seats and free wifi - a first for the Midlands - will head up the makeover menu.

It was March 2004 when we took the Derby-Nottingham frequency from every half hour to every 15 minutes.  We bought a fleet of brand new, air-conditioned Irizar coaches to do the job.

red arrow became one of our biggest marketing campaigns ever. We set ourselves the ambitious goal of increasing custom by over 100% within two years – and the red arrow team went on to beat that target.

Commercial Director Ian Morgan said:

“There probably aren’t many bus companies who wouldn’t have been tempted to rest on their laurels after such success.

“But we know that you have to keep the brand in top condition – especially an intercity coach route which is by its nature bound to have many more infrequent users than the typical local bus service.

“red arrow has to go on making favourable first impressions day after day.

“So work will start soon on a high-flying refit.  Research tells us that wifi will go down well with students and business customers – free internet access throughout their half hour journey.

“And while we are retrimming the interior and renewing the curtains we will switch from moquette to leather seating, now that we know how well that has gone down on black cat, X38 and keyworth connection. The four-seater table zones – a hugely popular red arrow feature from the start, will be improved and we’ll be fitting a luggage pen.

“And of course these Irizar coaches already had aircon from new – another highly desirable feature”.

Each of the 8 coaches will be taken in turn for the full treatment, and we have even purchased a modern Volvo coach as a stand-in; it will be painted in full red arrow livery and sold back into the summer season coaching market when the work is done.

Then it’ll be all systems go for another big marketing push, with a brand new red arrow campaign which will be repeated on the coach rears – to re-excite the market and take this big-hitting brand to the next level.

MANGO bears fruit
but *star trak lets itself down

Our ground-breaking MANGO smartcard project took off dead on time on rainbow 4 and is working to plan.  But glitch-ridden *star trak has been a letdown.

MANGO is the first GPS-based smartcard system in the UK, developed exclusively with German manufacturer init.  It is driven by a new ticket machine with a touch-screen very similar to a supermarket till, much faster than the existing Almex ticket machines and to everyone’s great delight, you don’t have to key in a list of codes to produce the ticket!  The *star trak GPS signal tells the machine where it is – so drivers should no longer have to worry about setting all the fare stages.

Commercial Manager Mark Greasley said:

“So far the MANGO trial has gone very smoothly.  We have a panel of about 50 volunteer customers who are putting the system through its paces – trying their hardest to catch it out.

“It has worked to the book, but sadly I can’t say that about *star trak, which has been far from reliable. This has on too many occasions disabled the automatic feed to our new machines, leaving drivers to scroll the boarding and alighting stages manually. 

“This comes at a time when there are calls from other operators in *star trak’s Leicester home City to shut the whole system down because of unreliability in the digital displays at the roadside and in the texting facility.

“So we are at a crossroads.  If *star trak cannot hack it, we may have to use a separate GPS feed to drive our machines and keep them clear of this problem.

“But the last word is positive; we are delighted with MANGO, the new machines are a dream even when they’re not fully linked, and we are very optimistic about rolling out this pioneering system company-wide”

The first stage of the MANGO trial started in September and runs until the year end.

“We’ll see it through”
– Optare pledge on new ‘caffe nero’ Tempos

Leeds-based bus manufacturers Optare have given their word that they will stick with the stylish new Tempos and banish any remaining teething problems.

As the last two from our 2007 order took to the road on the 21 route (see below), the manufacturer’s commitment came from the highest level.

Director of Service Delivery Jeff Counsell said:

“These buses (dubbed caffe nero style because the interiors look more like the famous Coffee House) are easily the hottest design property on the UK bus scene thanks to our work with top designer Ray Stenning.  But we have not been able to hide our disappointment at the poor initial availability on the road.

“Now we are satisfied that Optare are taking the problem seriously at the highest level, and that they will work with us to solve any remaining issues.

“In the meantime I am pleased to report that the seven new slimline Optare Solos, which were pressed immediately into service as refurbishment stand-ins on the allestree, are performing admirably on their resident route – the Kinchbus sprint for Loughborough University”.

Government Bill makes progress

The Local Transport Bill had its First Reading in the House of Lords on November 7th and was published by Parliament the next day.

trent barton submitted a 16 page response to the draft Bill as part of the consultation process, strongly supporting the concept of binding partnerships and the Bill’s recognition that local authorities, as well as operators can influence bus priority. 

Commercial Director Ian Morgan said:

“We have made it clear in our response that Government is absolutely right to make bus punctuality the cornerstone of its proposals.  It is also entirely appropriate that local authorities should be held accountable for their actions, or lack of them, in helping buses keep to time”.

The Bill gets its Second Reading in the Lords on November 20th.

The ads that money just can’t buy

It’s a hallmark of the trent barton fleet – no commercial advertising inside or out; not at any price.  So what’s the score with Westfield Derby – whose name and imagery are taking prominence on a number of our buses and leaflets?

Marketing Manager Sarah Taylor explained:

“Actually we have happily paid for the design and production of these adverts ourselves.  And for very good reason.

“We haven’t broken our rule.  We don’t take commercial advertising because it so often makes even the most modern fleet look scruffy and we believe the space is of far more value to us for our own branding and promotion.  For that matter, I doubt that Cadbury’s would let anyone else advertise on their chocolate wrappers either.

“But we sell destinations, and the better the destination, the more of it we sell.  Westfield Derby is a magnet for shoppers.  It’s a new generation shopping experience where people will also be just as likely to go for a cappuccino and a relaxed browse – what better way than by trent barton?

“So it is bound to be good for our business – and in return we want to forge a long term relationship with Westfield in which they will also scratch our backs by promoting us too”.

Vingt et un, s’il vous plaît…

It has perhaps been one of our better kept secrets up until now – but the Ilkeston to Nottingham 21 route is getting the Full Monty – aircon, leather seats, wood effect floors and not just a new name, but a whole hatful of them!

Our last two new Optare Tempos were part of an order of 6 destined for Calverton, before that project was deferred to 2008.  Four have been snapped up for the keyworth connection and that gives us the chance to raise our game by using the other two on the highly successful 21.  This is a route which plies its trade in Kirk Hallam and New Stapleford, as well as being the only direct link from Ilkeston to QMC and a regular source of Drivers of the Month and Commendation winners into the bargain.

And enter a new brand – still the 21, but in more languages than you can shake a stick at…!

Mess at Matlock
Now council pledges apology to customers

The development of a new Sainsburys on an old quarry site at Matlock has brought with it a new by pass road, the closure of the A6 river bridge and what should have been a bright new bus/rail interchange.  But contractors have failed to meet their targets and the facility remains unfinished. Now Derbyshire Dales District Council has published apology notices to bus users.

Our drivers, many of them on first name terms with local travellers, have been upset that there has been nothing they can do to help their customers. They report that some regulars have given up the ghost – and that can’t be any good for Matlock traders either.

Director of Service Delivery Jeff Counsell said:

“We had campaigned for a northbound bus lane over the A6 river bridge so that we could serve both sides of town.

“That was rejected, and now the insult to injury is that the direct route to the old bus station has closed before the new rail station interchange is anything like ready.

“We have protested to the District Council.  They have assured us that they are doing everything possible to bring their contractor back into line. The Council has now issued apologies to bus users for the state of unreadiness, and has set an end of November deadline for the work to be properly finished.

“We need a speedy resolution before we, and Matlock’s traders, lose any more custom.  But I’m afraid this all goes to show that public transport is still too far down the political agenda”.

Broadmarsh team’s Full(-ish) Monty
Charity Calendars make broadcast news

It’s not for the faint hearted.  A bus load of Broadmarsh drivers have bared (fortunately not quite) all for a Calendar which will sell for £5 a time – all to raise money for charity, and the BBC loves it.

rainbow 5’s Barry Allitt described the drivers as ‘Big Boned’ (carefully put) and says that everyone was up for the idea.

“It started as a bit of a laugh in the canteen but then we thought we’d go for it”.

Tim Holyoake was the official photographer.  He says he was given a clear brief: ‘Take the photos or be beaten up a lot’.

The calendar sales are to raise money for the Nottinghamshire Royal Society for the Blind.

BBC Radio Nottingham have already given the fearless models a plug.  Some would say it goes down best on radio…

harlequin is no clown
vouchers add to growing success

Barely six months into its relaunch with twice as many journeys and a new weekend night service, Derby’s colourful harlequin brand is already ahead of target, and now a new promotional campaign has trawled potentially thousands of extra sales.

The harlequin made bus history and picked up awards ten years ago after it was designed almost from scratch by the people of Heatherton, a new estate to the south-west of Derby. Type of bus, frequency, route, timetable, stops – even fares were determined from door to door research.

And the test has been that the brand has grown enough for us to double the frequency to every 15 minutes and run right through to 3am at weekends.

“The harlequin will have to more than double its original custom to cover the costs of the investment”, said Brand Manager Adrian Cadd, “but so far it’s doing even better than we had hoped. I must say that we are grateful to the ward councillor, Lucy Care, for her tremendous enthusiasm in plugging the harlequin at every opportunity.

“Another very positive sign is the tremendous response to our recent door-to-door voucher campaign, promoting our 13-trip FRIO ticket.  This has produced at least 150 new customers, which is good by the standards of any promotion but remarkable in such a compact community.  It represents thousands of extra trips per year if we can convert them into regulars”.

Driver of the Month latest
Record 4-place tie

9 months into 2007, and no fewer than fourteen £100 Driver of the Month cheques have already been presented.

In June Langley Mill’s Vittoria Bowring made it four months in a row for Langley Mill when she took the title outright. The commendation winners were David Nightingale from Broadmarsh, Terry Cotterill of Langley Mill and Brian Hutchison from Sutton.

And in July, no fewer than 4 Driver of the Month titles were awarded in a dead heat.  Peter Whittle, Dale Buck and Michael Janjua from Broadmarsh were joined by Alan Smith of Sutton.

July commendations went to Michael Bainbrigge and Anthony Quinn from Derby, Martin Forry from Broadmarsh and Joseph Bradley from Langley Mill.

Come August and it was David Cooke who took the Driver of the Month trophy for Broadmarsh.  Commendations went to Claire Parkin and Timothy Waplington, both from Langley Mill.

Hot on the heels of her May commendation, Tracey Reed returned the Driver of the Month title to Langley Mill in September. Mark Hutchinson of Langley Mill and Adam Collison of Broadmarsh were both awarded commendations.

So the guest list for next year’s Really Good Service Awards is coming along very nicely!

Gimme Shelter
‘model of integration let down by squalid shelters’ – conference told

When connect was launched in Hucknall in January 2006, feeding the Tram commercially instead of competing, it was hailed as a ‘model of integration’ by local MP Paddy Tipping.  But the neglected and obstructed shelters on the Hucknall estates are a world apart from the luxury models provided for the tram – and that is holding connect back.

That was Melvyn Hopwood’s message from trent barton to the Association of Commuter Transport’s October conference in Nottingham.

Addressing the conference, Melvyn said:

“We have much to be proud of in Nottingham.  It’s a great city and that is great for our business.  We have strong relationships with our partners on the City and County councils.

“The Tram is a high quality system and its roadside infrastructure is inspiring – every bit as fresh today as the day it was installed.

“Now take a look at what bus users face every day – it’s a different world.

“The bus shelter is the shop window for bus travel.  And we know from very recent research that although connect is loved to bits by its customers, the shelters are another story – they are the weakest link by a long way.

“There are two messages here:  Government needs to take on board that the basics should never be neglected; money needs to be available to authorities to install and maintain infrastructure that will encourage new custom rather than drive it away.

“And it should be no more acceptable for a selfish road user to block a bus stop than to park across a tram line.

“We will be pursuing our campaign for better shelters in Hucknall with the County Council and we are seeking the help of Paddy Tipping, who was one of connect’s earliest supporters”.

‘model of integration’ – Tram and connect pictured at Hucknall.

The stylish Tram infrastructure – still good as new.

A different view for bus customers – the graffiti is a subconscious warning that this is not a nice place to wait.

And how can easy access buses get anywhere near these stops?

FOOTNOTE:  Now in his 38th year with the company, Melvyn Hopwood stepped down from his post as Head of Communications at the end of October. He will be supporting the Board in a new part-time position focusing on Brand Management.  The Media, Research, Marketing, Training and Customer Services brief is taken over by former IT Manager Mark Greasley, now the company’s Commercial Manager.