(05 Feb 2017, 10:40 pm)James101 When GNE went big with their branding back in 2006, the branding was arguably a bit more wholehearted. The brand was continued internally, including themed coving panels and safety notices - which have since been dropped.Kingfisher was to do with Watergate Park area and the rejuvanation of said birds I believe.
The best execution of a bus brand I think I've seen is Trent's 'Spondon Flyer'. Much more than just a livery, internally the seats are individually numbered and have a BOAC 'Speedbird' style logo embroided , mimicking a plane cabin. The coving adverts interwork flight/holiday themes throughout and the timetables describe 'Flight times'. Even the destination display en route states 'Come fly with me to......Spondon'.
Catching a 'flyer' becomes an immersive experience for the passenger, the brand sticks in the mind and builds loyalty. It is useful of course that the brand has an appropriate meaning - it's a express bus to Spondon after all.
There was a point were GNE seemed to be branding for the sake of branding. There's little point if it doesn't mean anything - I'm thinking 'Kingfisher', 'See it Do it' 'Showstopper'. I'd rather a strong corporate identity for peripheral routes and some strong, well executed, brands for core routes such as 'Angel', 'TTX' & 'Prince Bishops'.
(05 Feb 2017, 10:40 pm)James101 When GNE went big with their branding back in 2006, the branding was arguably a bit more wholehearted. The brand was continued internally, including themed coving panels and safety notices - which have since been dropped.Kingfisher was to do with Watergate Park area and the rejuvanation of said birds I believe.
The best execution of a bus brand I think I've seen is Trent's 'Spondon Flyer'. Much more than just a livery, internally the seats are individually numbered and have a BOAC 'Speedbird' style logo embroided , mimicking a plane cabin. The coving adverts interwork flight/holiday themes throughout and the timetables describe 'Flight times'. Even the destination display en route states 'Come fly with me to......Spondon'.
Catching a 'flyer' becomes an immersive experience for the passenger, the brand sticks in the mind and builds loyalty. It is useful of course that the brand has an appropriate meaning - it's a express bus to Spondon after all.
There was a point were GNE seemed to be branding for the sake of branding. There's little point if it doesn't mean anything - I'm thinking 'Kingfisher', 'See it Do it' 'Showstopper'. I'd rather a strong corporate identity for peripheral routes and some strong, well executed, brands for core routes such as 'Angel', 'TTX' & 'Prince Bishops'.
(05 Feb 2017, 10:56 pm)Jamie M Kingfisher was to do with Watergate Park area and the rejuvanation of said birds I believe.
Seeitdoit - http://www.seeitdoitsunderland.co.uk/, it's an organisation.
I do get your point, but most brands have some purpose, somewhere.
Personally I see details such as seat numbering as superficial gimmicks. It's not premium - it's just trying to be. Of course you get wifi and that stuff, but the design I feel is completely irrelevant because it all looks the same when it comes to it. E-leather and floor lighting or cloth seats and generic plastic.
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(05 Feb 2017, 10:56 pm)Jamie M Kingfisher was to do with Watergate Park area and the rejuvanation of said birds I believe.
Seeitdoit - http://www.seeitdoitsunderland.co.uk/, it's an organisation.
I do get your point, but most brands have some purpose, somewhere.
Personally I see details such as seat numbering as superficial gimmicks. It's not premium - it's just trying to be. Of course you get wifi and that stuff, but the design I feel is completely irrelevant because it all looks the same when it comes to it. E-leather and floor lighting or cloth seats and generic plastic.
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(05 Feb 2017, 10:40 pm)James101 When GNE went big with their branding back in 2006, the branding was arguably a bit more wholehearted. The brand was continued internally, including themed coving panels and safety notices - which have since been dropped.
The best execution of a bus brand I think I've seen is Trent's 'Spondon Flyer'. Much more than just a livery, internally the seats are individually numbered and have a BOAC 'Speedbird' style logo embroided , mimicking a plane cabin. The coving adverts interwork flight/holiday themes throughout and the timetables describe 'Flight times'. Even the destination display en route states 'Come fly with me to......Spondon'.
Catching a 'flyer' becomes an immersive experience for the passenger, the brand sticks in the mind and builds loyalty. It is useful of course that the brand has an appropriate meaning - it's a express bus to Spondon after all.
There was a point were GNE seemed to be branding for the sake of branding. There's little point if it doesn't mean anything - I'm thinking 'Kingfisher', 'See it Do it' 'Showstopper'. I'd rather a strong corporate identity for peripheral routes and some strong, well executed, brands for core routes such as 'Angel', 'TTX' & 'Prince Bishops'.
(05 Feb 2017, 10:40 pm)James101 When GNE went big with their branding back in 2006, the branding was arguably a bit more wholehearted. The brand was continued internally, including themed coving panels and safety notices - which have since been dropped.
The best execution of a bus brand I think I've seen is Trent's 'Spondon Flyer'. Much more than just a livery, internally the seats are individually numbered and have a BOAC 'Speedbird' style logo embroided , mimicking a plane cabin. The coving adverts interwork flight/holiday themes throughout and the timetables describe 'Flight times'. Even the destination display en route states 'Come fly with me to......Spondon'.
Catching a 'flyer' becomes an immersive experience for the passenger, the brand sticks in the mind and builds loyalty. It is useful of course that the brand has an appropriate meaning - it's a express bus to Spondon after all.
There was a point were GNE seemed to be branding for the sake of branding. There's little point if it doesn't mean anything - I'm thinking 'Kingfisher', 'See it Do it' 'Showstopper'. I'd rather a strong corporate identity for peripheral routes and some strong, well executed, brands for core routes such as 'Angel', 'TTX' & 'Prince Bishops'.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:34 pm)stagecoachbusdepot I agree re: pointless brands but SIDIS and Showstopper do/did have relevance (Showstopper being related to the Empire which I think was at one point on the route, and more importantly funded the branding!).
Poorer attempts for me were 'the NINE' and whatever the other brand was that was essentially silver numbers stuck on a tatty purple solar. Silver arrows, green arrow, blue arrow are all a bit meaningless (I know silver arrows were designed off red arrows, but still). Whey Aye Five O is just awful, as is Simplicity (though both do have some loose meaning related to the route - or did until the Five-0 was translated to 5). Coast & Country as has been discussed previously would work if only it went to the coast. Ten is dull but works, and I always thought Fab56 was weak - but clearly its effective as its one of the few originals to survive barely changed. And don't get me started on indigo.
Other than those though, the remaining brands are pretty strong. It's a shame if Blaydon Racers is being abandoned as a brand as it does have a lot of local meaning and works well for a bus service.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:34 pm)stagecoachbusdepot I agree re: pointless brands but SIDIS and Showstopper do/did have relevance (Showstopper being related to the Empire which I think was at one point on the route, and more importantly funded the branding!).
Poorer attempts for me were 'the NINE' and whatever the other brand was that was essentially silver numbers stuck on a tatty purple solar. Silver arrows, green arrow, blue arrow are all a bit meaningless (I know silver arrows were designed off red arrows, but still). Whey Aye Five O is just awful, as is Simplicity (though both do have some loose meaning related to the route - or did until the Five-0 was translated to 5). Coast & Country as has been discussed previously would work if only it went to the coast. Ten is dull but works, and I always thought Fab56 was weak - but clearly its effective as its one of the few originals to survive barely changed. And don't get me started on indigo.
Other than those though, the remaining brands are pretty strong. It's a shame if Blaydon Racers is being abandoned as a brand as it does have a lot of local meaning and works well for a bus service.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:18 pm)James101 I don't think any branding necessary improves the passenger experience, or adds any sense of 'premium'. Branding should be there to build commercial awareness. Imagine someone was getting the bus for the first time from Newcastle to Chester-le-Street and they've been told there's an Arriva bus and an Angel bus. There's dozens of mysterious looking Arriva buses around Newcastle but the green bus with a massive image of the Angel on the side is clearly the one they need. If once on board, the new passenger is surrounded by reminders they are on the Angel they'll remember that's the bus to Newcastle. From then, they'll always use the Angel and never contemplate getting the X12. It's the same as ASDA using green and Tesco using blue for signs and uniforms in their stores - to implant the brand in the customer's mind.The bus networks here are incredibly monipolised, generally. Branding isn't essential because there isn't the need for the edge over the competing parties as they simply don't exist. Look at Stanley depot for example. Everything is pretty simple, even those B9s are untouched inside. The only routes that challenges anything to do with Stanley are the 713 and the EDwhatever to Medomsley (just). Neither carry more than about 10 people (the ED only runs once, too), so businesswise there is no need to invest in the finer aspects of a bus. If you put GNE logos all over the Stanley Omnidekkas, is a single person going to start using service X71 over anything else? No - simply because there is nothing else. Same with the Toonlinks/RKs/Ventures.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:18 pm)James101 I don't think any branding necessary improves the passenger experience, or adds any sense of 'premium'. Branding should be there to build commercial awareness. Imagine someone was getting the bus for the first time from Newcastle to Chester-le-Street and they've been told there's an Arriva bus and an Angel bus. There's dozens of mysterious looking Arriva buses around Newcastle but the green bus with a massive image of the Angel on the side is clearly the one they need. If once on board, the new passenger is surrounded by reminders they are on the Angel they'll remember that's the bus to Newcastle. From then, they'll always use the Angel and never contemplate getting the X12. It's the same as ASDA using green and Tesco using blue for signs and uniforms in their stores - to implant the brand in the customer's mind.The bus networks here are incredibly monipolised, generally. Branding isn't essential because there isn't the need for the edge over the competing parties as they simply don't exist. Look at Stanley depot for example. Everything is pretty simple, even those B9s are untouched inside. The only routes that challenges anything to do with Stanley are the 713 and the EDwhatever to Medomsley (just). Neither carry more than about 10 people (the ED only runs once, too), so businesswise there is no need to invest in the finer aspects of a bus. If you put GNE logos all over the Stanley Omnidekkas, is a single person going to start using service X71 over anything else? No - simply because there is nothing else. Same with the Toonlinks/RKs/Ventures.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:47 pm)Jamie M The bus networks here are incredibly monipolised, generally. Branding isn't essential because there isn't the need for the edge over the competing parties as they simply don't exist. Look at Stanley depot for example. Everything is pretty simple, even those B9s are untouched inside. The only routes that challenges anything to do with Stanley are the 713 and the EDwhatever to Medomsley (just). Neither carry more than about 10 people (the ED only runs once, too), so businesswise there is no need to invest in the finer aspects of a bus. If you put GNE logos all over the Stanley Omnidekkas, is a single person going to start using service X71 over anything else? No - simply because there is nothing else. Same with the Toonlinks/RKs/Ventures.
If those buses (the brick-like solos) are to be completing contract work, then the chances of there being any competition is slim. Is there another bus administrated by a different company that operates similarly to the 333? Is there a different company that operates the same links from Airport and the surrounding area?
Given the buses size, you should be able to guess that competition is not a factor that is involved in the decision to allocate.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:47 pm)Jamie M The bus networks here are incredibly monipolised, generally. Branding isn't essential because there isn't the need for the edge over the competing parties as they simply don't exist. Look at Stanley depot for example. Everything is pretty simple, even those B9s are untouched inside. The only routes that challenges anything to do with Stanley are the 713 and the EDwhatever to Medomsley (just). Neither carry more than about 10 people (the ED only runs once, too), so businesswise there is no need to invest in the finer aspects of a bus. If you put GNE logos all over the Stanley Omnidekkas, is a single person going to start using service X71 over anything else? No - simply because there is nothing else. Same with the Toonlinks/RKs/Ventures.
If those buses (the brick-like solos) are to be completing contract work, then the chances of there being any competition is slim. Is there another bus administrated by a different company that operates similarly to the 333? Is there a different company that operates the same links from Airport and the surrounding area?
Given the buses size, you should be able to guess that competition is not a factor that is involved in the decision to allocate.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:52 pm)S813 FVK I wouldn't say that the ED1 provides any form of competition with GNE - 1 journey in each direction on schooldays with the purpose of transporting students to Houghall Campus. It doesn't go via Durham Bus Station/Millburngate either, it heads straight down Framwellgate Peth and across the bridge to New Elvet. Not ideal for anybody going into the city and passengers for New College usually let it past and wait for the 16 that runs minutes behind it.
Redgarding the 333 etc, Nexus state the capacity etc - the operator gets paid to operate the service regardless of how much competition is.
(05 Feb 2017, 11:52 pm)S813 FVK I wouldn't say that the ED1 provides any form of competition with GNE - 1 journey in each direction on schooldays with the purpose of transporting students to Houghall Campus. It doesn't go via Durham Bus Station/Millburngate either, it heads straight down Framwellgate Peth and across the bridge to New Elvet. Not ideal for anybody going into the city and passengers for New College usually let it past and wait for the 16 that runs minutes behind it.
Redgarding the 333 etc, Nexus state the capacity etc - the operator gets paid to operate the service regardless of how much competition is.
(05 Feb 2017, 10:40 pm)James101 When GNE went big with their branding back in 2006, the branding was arguably a bit more wholehearted. The brand was continued internally, including themed coving panels and safety notices - which have since been dropped.
The best execution of a bus brand I think I've seen is Trent's 'Spondon Flyer'. Much more than just a livery, internally the seats are individually numbered and have a BOAC 'Speedbird' style logo embroided , mimicking a plane cabin. The coving adverts interwork flight/holiday themes throughout and the timetables describe 'Flight times'. Even the destination display en route states 'Come fly with me to......Spondon'.
Catching a 'flyer' becomes an immersive experience for the passenger, the brand sticks in the mind and builds loyalty. It is useful of course that the brand has an appropriate meaning - it's a express bus to Spondon after all.
There was a point were GNE seemed to be branding for the sake of branding. There's little point if it doesn't mean anything - I'm thinking 'Kingfisher', 'See it Do it' 'Showstopper'. I'd rather a strong corporate identity for peripheral routes and some strong, well executed, brands for core routes such as 'Angel', 'TTX' & 'Prince Bishops'.
(05 Feb 2017, 10:40 pm)James101 When GNE went big with their branding back in 2006, the branding was arguably a bit more wholehearted. The brand was continued internally, including themed coving panels and safety notices - which have since been dropped.
The best execution of a bus brand I think I've seen is Trent's 'Spondon Flyer'. Much more than just a livery, internally the seats are individually numbered and have a BOAC 'Speedbird' style logo embroided , mimicking a plane cabin. The coving adverts interwork flight/holiday themes throughout and the timetables describe 'Flight times'. Even the destination display en route states 'Come fly with me to......Spondon'.
Catching a 'flyer' becomes an immersive experience for the passenger, the brand sticks in the mind and builds loyalty. It is useful of course that the brand has an appropriate meaning - it's a express bus to Spondon after all.
There was a point were GNE seemed to be branding for the sake of branding. There's little point if it doesn't mean anything - I'm thinking 'Kingfisher', 'See it Do it' 'Showstopper'. I'd rather a strong corporate identity for peripheral routes and some strong, well executed, brands for core routes such as 'Angel', 'TTX' & 'Prince Bishops'.
(06 Feb 2017, 5:01 pm)EL1TE 5409 has been loaned to Chester-Le-Street:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98641142@N08/32594614122/
(06 Feb 2017, 5:01 pm)EL1TE 5409 has been loaned to Chester-Le-Street:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98641142@N08/32594614122/
5290 has a WiFi access point, although no WiFi access just yet!
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Red kite 5414 was on 15/15a's late morning. Makes a change from B7's!
How many buses now have the new GNE logos? I've seen 3967, 3969 and 8316 with the new logos today.
(07 Feb 2017, 4:15 pm)EL1TE How many buses now have the new GNE logos? I've seen 3967, 3969 and 8316 with the new logos today.
(07 Feb 2017, 4:15 pm)EL1TE How many buses now have the new GNE logos? I've seen 3967, 3969 and 8316 with the new logos today.
