During the pandemic, I mentioned that it was the ideal time to do this and get it ready. I was told the tables, titivations and paintjobs would do this.
It didn't.
To get the network ready for the future:
- They need to speak to current, past and potential future passengers and do so on a far greater and detailed scale than ever before. This local knowledge is priceless. There are (sometimes) valid opinions potentially shaping the success of the organisation. Yet seemingly it is ignored or under utilised.
- In an ideal world, that network will be stable.
- It will be domething that passengers can understand and something which can be utilised across the day.
- Partner work needs to be stepped up. Whether that be Metro or other bus operators (too often seen as competitors) to ensure passengers are aware of who operates the evening service or who can offer an alternative of some sort or another. It also includes the major football teams and other external stakeholders.
- Advertise and market the products, so awareness increases and leads to increased ticket sales.
- Commercial teams (whether existing or new) need to think outside the box, move away from cronyism and nepotism and put passengers first. Ignoring any toxic ideology seeping through the Ivory Towers on the way.
- Customer service needs to step up. It needs to operate longer and needs to service passengers who don't travel between the current opening hours.
- There needs to defined short, medium and long term objectives and although there will be slight changes along the way, someone needs to keep hold of the goalposts to stop them moving about so frantically.
- Sort out employee relations.
- Ensure people aren't over promoted in to jobs they can't do (a pet peeve of mine). Those individuals may be good doing a job further down the pecking order, but that doesn't guarantee they're any good once they start climbing the corporate ladder.
They're the urgent fixes.