|
|
| PRESS RELEASE (24 July 2008) |
| |
| Top Bus Service Gets a Multi-Million Pound Makeover & New Name |
| |
ONE of the most recognisable bus services in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire is to get a totally new look in a £3.5 million investment by trentbarton.
rainbow 5 becomes . . . indigo.
It is one of the most successful bus services of its kind in Britain after achieving huge growth in passenger numbers between Nottingham and Long Eaton, and on to Derby and Loughborough.
The service is the most frequent in the history of trent barton, running every six to seven minutes in either direction on the core part of the route to and from Long Eaton and Nottingham.
From the end of next month it will be known as indigo. That’s because passengers told the company that they associate the livery with the bus service more than the current name.
The 25 new indigo buses, with coordinating interior décor, will take to the roads soon. As standard, they have air conditioning, leather seats and wood laminate floors.
The new investment comes even though the current buses are just five years old, re-emphasising the policy of trentbarton of continual renewal in its fleet.
Brand manager for indigo is Cherryl Holland, who said: “This is a massive boost for one of the most innovative bus services in Britain. We go out of our way to provide the best service that we can to our passengers every day, and I am sure they will be delighted with their new-look buses. They told us what they liked about the service, and we are sure that indigo will exceed their expectations.”
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
Bus industry leaders have come from far and wide over the years to see the success of the rainbow 5 service in an era when bus services outside London were in decline.
First launched 16 years ago, between 1997 and 2002 passenger numbers grew from 2.5 million a year to 4 million.
When the bus service had reached such maturity that future growth of that size would be unsustainable, the emphasis switched from just satisfying passengers to delighting them.
Brand manager Cherryl Holland said: “We took the approach of retailers rather than of service providers. If passengers were to be kept happy – and therefore on board – they increasingly came to expect top notch quality and reliability, and we wanted to give them that.”
rainbow 5 scooped the top marketing prize at the UK Bus Industry Awards with praise for every single driver on the service being involved in the plans to improve it further, including a £2.5 million investment in new buses in 2003.
COFFEE SHOP CULTURE COMES TO INDIGO
All the 25 new buses on the indigo service come with leather seats and wood laminate floors.
Britain’s top bus design company Best Impressions came up with the look for the interior – one that would normally be associated with a high street coffee shop.
“Internal décor has been an afterthought for many bus companies over the years. No more,” said designer Ray Stenning.
“Buses are no different from shops and we want to match the standards of retailers, so we have tried to incorporate some of the sought-after ambience and atmosphere of a coffee shop.
“People enjoy being with others in quality shops, cafes and restaurants, and we want to re-create the conditions that satisfy the desire for personal space within public space on buses.” |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
