8312 now has the new logos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/16042610@N...otostream/

(28 Jan 2017, 5:02 am)omnicity4659 wrote I like the idea of branding on the existing corporate livery, but just as long as it's not branding for the sake of branding, advertising a bus route with no on-board features for example.

What bugs me is use of contravision, yes, the route number has to stand out but does it really need to be plastered on the side windows?

Also, noticed a few people complaining about it being bland. Nobody ever complained about the bland subbranding which Arriva use placed on top of the existing Interurban livery...

Where else would you put the sticker on a Streetlite, if you want it to stand out like that? Unless you put it on the panels underneath the window, but then you'd lose the ability to carry adboards on the buses, as they'd cover it. 

You'd need to either shrink the logo dramatically or come up with something else.

And you say that, but there were plenty complaining about Frequenta... How about we just have a reasoned debate without it turning into which operator is the best?

I doubt the colour of a bus actually encourages use. Isn't usage down?

Price and scheduling is probably the biggest driver.

Pretty colours and catching schemes are not not going to drive passengers and bus companies are not solely operating for the benefit of enthusiast whims. The majority of passengers simply look at the number. The huge amounts of regular subsititues of substandard dirty omindekkas and B7s doesn't seem to damage the 21

However when it comes to flagship, they are flagship because they are in dense population areas with high demand,. Absolutely nothing to do with marketing or brands.

(28 Jan 2017, 7:29 pm)Ambassador wrote I doubt the colour of a bus actually encourages use. Isn't usage down?

Price and scheduling is probably the biggest driver.

Pretty colours and catching schemes are not not going to drive passengers and bus companies are not solely operating for the benefit of enthusiast whims.  The majority of passengers simply look at the number. The huge amounts of regular subsititues of substandard dirty omindekkas and B7s doesn't seem to damage the 21

However when it comes to flagship, they are flagship because they are in dense population areas with high demand,. Absolutely nothing to do with marketing or brands.

I thought branding a product, describing its features and benefits were all part of a strategy to encourage growth?
Ronseal might as well get rid of their catchy slogans, colourful packaging and have people write on the tin with a felt-tip pen...

http://www.busandcoach.com/news/articles...-branding/
There's a quote here from Martin Harris from way back when they started it all off.

It depends what you're targeting. Retaining your existing customers is equally as important as growing your business. Passenger numbers are still in decline, so you can't knock companies for trying new things.

With those using ENCTS passes, it's simply a case of first bus that comes along. On competed routes, it's clearly about price and then frequency, above anything else. But what's to stop fare paying customers to choose the car instead?

I personally couldn't care less how eye catching they think a multi coloured bus is, as I'd rather just have a comfortable seat and WiFi. I'll get the former in a car, but WiFi is a selling point for me to use the bus over the car.

(28 Jan 2017, 9:10 pm)Andreos1 wrote I thought branding a product, describing its features and benefits were all part of a strategy to encourage growth?
Ronseal might as well get rid of their catchy slogans, colourful packaging and have people write on the tin with a felt-tip pen...

http://www.busandcoach.com/news/articles...-branding/
There's a quote here from Martin Harris from way back when they started it all off.

To be fair, that article is from 2006, It's a very different world and a different market. You can't compare buses to a brand as such. In most cases passengers are using it through necessity over choice. 

Stagecoach have a very laissez faire approach to branding and do rather well because their business plan works, strong competitive pricing, good rolling investment and strong customer service.

Take Chester le street into Newcastle

The train. Quick, reliable and into the centre £868 a year.
The 21 or X21. Slower, not reliable and potentially a B7  = £996

Nb this is based on commuting and on assumption commuter uses transport only to work (which I and most folk I work with who use buses do)

(28 Jan 2017, 10:50 pm)Ambassador wrote To be fair, that article is from 2006, It's a very different world and a different market. You can't compare buses to a brand as such. In most cases passengers are using it through necessity over choice. 

Stagecoach have a very laissez faire approach to branding and do rather well because their business plan works, strong competitive pricing, good rolling investment and strong customer service.

Take Chester le street into Newcastle

The train. Quick, reliable and into the centre £868 a year.
The 21 or X21. Slower, not reliable and potentially a B7  = £996

Nb this is based on commuting and on assumption commuter uses transport only to work (which I and most folk I work with who use buses do)

£907.40 if u buy angel week tickets.

Also the original reason for branding was I think Chris moyes said it's easier to spot the colour of the bus rather than the number. Imagine if eldon square was packed with blue and red!

(28 Jan 2017, 10:50 pm)Ambassador wrote To be fair, that article is from 2006, It's a very different world and a different market. You can't compare buses to a brand as such. In most cases passengers are using it through necessity over choice. 

Stagecoach have a very laissez faire approach to branding and do rather well because their business plan works, strong competitive pricing, good rolling investment and strong customer service.

Take Chester le street into Newcastle

The train. Quick, reliable and into the centre £868 a year.
The 21 or X21. Slower, not reliable and potentially a B7  = £996

Nb this is based on commuting and on assumption commuter uses transport only to work (which I and most folk I work with who use buses do)

Also based on an assumption that the train leaves from walking distance from your house!

And that the hourly train turns up.

(28 Jan 2017, 11:54 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Also based on an assumption that the train leaves from walking distance from your house!

And that the hourly train turns up.

The frequency of 21/X21 is huge. If you miss one, you wait like 7 minutes max for another one. If you miss the train, it's an extra hour.

I have the 6, X30, X31, X70, X71, 97, X97 and 97A, even the V7/8 in reach -all going to the same place in a morning. They will all get me to the same place at the same time, roughly. Paying the premium to have so many options out of my door is well worth it. I even have a choice of where in Newcastle or Gateshead I can be dropped off at a high frequency. Yeah, the buses are all without fail terrible and provide no amazing features that make me enjoy my trip - it's far better than driving in terms of my blood pressure and fuel prices. Trains are generalistic almost, they take you to a place and you then have to get something else to wherever you really want to go.

Talking reliability, cost, efficiency and ease of use, buses win by a mile - trains win solely on comfort.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

(28 Jan 2017, 11:13 pm)JP6004 wrote £907.40 if u buy angel week tickets.

Also the original reason for branding was I think Chris moyes said it's easier to spot the colour of the bus rather than the number. Imagine if eldon square was packed with blue and red!

Oh I dunno. Stagecoach manage. In fact we all managed until GNE started this. Worswick St was all red and white. Newcastle was a sea of Busways yellow for a long time.

I think the 49 branding is a step forward. Less spent on vinyls = more on engineering/staff/passengers etc

(29 Jan 2017, 12:14 am)Jamie M wrote The frequency of 21/X21 is huge. If you miss one, you wait like 7 minutes max for another one. If you miss the train, it's an extra hour.

I have the 6, X30, X31, X70, X71, 97, X97 and 97A, even the V7/8 in reach -all going to the same place in a morning. They will all get me to the same place at the same time, roughly. Paying the premium to have so many options out of my door is well worth it. I even have a choice of where in Newcastle or Gateshead I can be dropped off at a high frequency. Yeah, the buses are all without fail terrible and provide no amazing features that make me enjoy my trip - it's far better than driving in terms of my blood pressure and fuel prices. Trains are generalistic almost, they take you to a place and you then have to get something else to wherever you really want to go.

Talking reliability, cost, efficiency and ease of use, buses win by a mile - trains win solely on comfort.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

I agree that a regular turn up and go service seems to be one of the best selling points for a bus route.
My observations in Chester le Street see people letting the Arriva X12 go past them to board a GNE 21, X21 or X25. This is despite a cheaper fare on Arriva at £2.90 verses £3.35 on GNE. Arriva have an almost 100% WiFi offering whereas GNE send out spare vehicles with no WiFi on an almost daily basis.
So while branding, WiFi and price have their benefits I would say that a frequent service is the winner in attracting customers.
I am aware that some people will take the GNE bus due to onward connctions but I have based my assumption purely on observations of customers purchasing a single or return to Gateshead or Newcastle.

(28 Jan 2017, 10:50 pm)Ambassador wrote To be fair, that article is from 2006, It's a very different world and a different market. You can't compare buses to a brand as such. In most cases passengers are using it through necessity over choice. 

Stagecoach have a very laissez faire approach to branding and do rather well because their business plan works, strong competitive pricing, good rolling investment and strong customer service.

Take Chester le street into Newcastle

The train. Quick, reliable and into the centre £868 a year.
The 21 or X21. Slower, not reliable and potentially a B7  = £996

Nb this is based on commuting and on assumption commuter uses transport only to work (which I and most folk I work with who use buses do)

But if some passengers are referring to the bus by its brand name, as regularly as those who refer to the bus by the number, then it is obviously seen (by some) as a brand.

Although not really prevelant up here, we have seen some operators across the country get rid of numbers altogether. Nottingham is a prime example, with several routes not referred to but anything other than the brand name.

Those passengers who do have a choice about using their car or a bus, may become familiar with a multi-coloured vehicle promoting the features and benefits. I can see them becoming more aware than if they're following a corporate coloured vehicle that has the operator logo and an advert for a building society.

I do agree that price is an important factor. Particularly during times of austerity. Frequency must also be a factor.
Ditto customer service from staff, a clean bus and sitting in a generally pleasant environment.

I wonder if the seemingly ideological focus on branding everything in the depot, has meant focus has been lost on the factors passengers/customers actually want.

I was thinking, could GNE not just have the following branding policy:

Cat 1 for your typical average route like the Blue Arrow etc:
- Red GNE livery

Cat 2 for 'premium' routes which offer at least Wi-Fi and a few other features:
- New corporate livery with mentioned features available on board and key route info as seen with the 49/49A examples

Cat 3 for routes where the brand is important to highlight a key stop on route (Angel, Metro Centre, Quayside, Cobalt) and buses don't essentially need the mentioned features for Cat 2 branding although can be included:
- Route branding

(29 Jan 2017, 11:00 am)L469 YVK wrote I was thinking, could GNE not just have the following branding policy:

Cat 1 for your typical average route like the Blue Arrow etc:
- Red GNE livery

Cat 2 for 'premium' routes which offer at least Wi-Fi and a few other features:
- New corporate livery with mentioned features available on board and key route info as seen with the 49/49A examples

Cat 3 for routes where the brand is important to highlight a key stop on route (Angel, Metro Centre, Quayside, Cobalt) and buses don't essentially need the mentioned features for Cat 2 branding although can be included:
- Route branding

Sounds better than whats going around: (i know i'm repeating but just incase someone does ask)


Tier 1: Branded - routes like the Angel/Red Arrow 
Tier 2: All feature branding the same as the 49's
NEXUS routes would have corporate because of contracts etc, extra peak time services. 


Although i don't agree on the likes of the 64/67/69/95 getting it because they run hourly.

Only issue with the new 49 branding is the back doesn't appear to show 'The 49', meaning the route map looks like its referring to whatever the destination panel is showing - in this case the number X66.


https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/140920997@...726871124/

(29 Jan 2017, 4:51 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Only issue with the new 49 branding is the back doesn't appear to show 'The 49', meaning the route map looks like its referring to whatever the destination panel is showing - in this case the number X66.


https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/140920997@...726871124/

And that there's no mention of the 49A...which is a totally separate route between Swalwell and Winlaton.

(29 Jan 2017, 5:28 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote And that there's no mention of the 49A...which is a totally separate route between Swalwell and Winlaton.

I would assume that this is why there is no mention of Blaydon (which the 49 serves) and it jumps straight to Winlaton from Swalwell.

More Streetlites for the 49/49A spotted at Heysham Docks:


5453 - https://malsfotofile.smugmug.com/Heysham...-dZc3cLF/A

5454 - https://malsfotofile.smugmug.com/Heysham...-5qCswjm/A

5457 - https://malsfotofile.smugmug.com/Heysham...-LNQwFTr/A

Unidentified: https://malsfotofile.smugmug.com/Heysham...-pJ6v7zV/A

Unidentified: https://malsfotofile.smugmug.com/Heysham...-hDQm7NV/A

Credit: Mal's FotoFile

Edit:

Thanks to who ever put the credit part on my post, i totally forgot!

(29 Jan 2017, 4:51 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Only issue with the new 49 branding is the back doesn't appear to show 'The 49', meaning the route map looks like its referring to whatever the destination panel is showing - in this case the number X66.


https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/140920997@...726871124/

That is a good point. Perhaps the 49 logo should be in place of the white strip?

Has all the Durham Diamond Streetlites entered service yet?

(29 Jan 2017, 8:00 pm)Michael wrote Has all the Durham Diamond Streetlites entered service yet?

Yes, 5448 was the last to enter service yesterday.

(29 Jan 2017, 8:08 pm)S813 FVK wrote Yes, 5448 was the last to enter service yesterday.

Cheers.

Re the 49 branding not including the 49A, does the ten branding include the 10A or 10B anywhere?.....just a thought.

(29 Jan 2017, 9:39 pm)GX03 wrote Re the 49 branding not including the 49A, does the ten branding include the 10A or 10B anywhere?.....just a thought.

The exception is, when the TEN was launched it was just the 10 to Rockwood Hill/Crawcrook (?) If I remember correctly. They expanded/reconfigured it soon after, but this was when the 31/32s did the night journeys also.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

(29 Jan 2017, 11:08 pm)Jamie M wrote The exception is, when the TEN was launched it was just the 10 to Rockwood Hill (?) If I remember correctly. They expanded it soon after, but this was when the 31s did the night journeys also.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Yes, that is correct. When the brand started, it was just the 10 to Rockwood Hill with a PVR of 10, each bus displaying a different reason to travel, every 10 minutes and a weekly ticket priced at £10.

The first expansion came in 2010 when the Arriva 602/604 were withdrawn - the 10 was diverted to Hexham to recover the route lost (the 11 to Low Prudhoe to replace the 604) and the 10A was introduced to pick up the route to Rockwood Hill, raising the PVR by 4 (maybe just 12 with a branded spare at Winlaton and one at Hexham?).

The 10B was introduced in 2013 in line with the B9s arriving and also coincided with the withdrawl of the 69A between Blackhall Mill and Metrocentre (Metrocentre - Wardley section is the 67) which saw the 11 re-routed to cover the Blaydon - Blackhall Mill section since the route from Greenside to Blackhall Mill is funded by Nexus.

I don't think that a brand change was (or is) required to incorporate the 10A/10B somewhere. Most vehicles promote the frequencies between places that the route services and the ones that do pretty much state the route of all 3 TEN services (although no service numbers are stated):

Go North East: 6072 / NK62 FBA by mdw9121, on Flickr

10: Newcastle - Hexham
10A: Newcastle - Crawcrook then off to Rockwood Hill (and Blackhall Mill although that section did not exist at the time the B9s arrived)
10B: Newcastle - Prudhoe (Rail Interchange)

(29 Jan 2017, 8:34 am)GuyParkRoyal wrote I agree that a regular turn up and go service seems to be one of the best selling points for a bus route.
My observations in Chester le Street see people letting the Arriva X12 go past them to board a GNE 21, X21 or X25. This is despite a cheaper fare on Arriva at £2.90 verses £3.35 on GNE. Arriva have an almost 100% WiFi offering whereas GNE send out spare vehicles with no WiFi on an almost daily basis.
So while branding, WiFi and price have their benefits I would say that a frequent service is the winner in attracting customers.
I am aware that some people will take the GNE bus due to onward connctions but I have based my assumption purely on observations of customers purchasing a single or return to Gateshead or Newcastle.

Quite. If I'm going to Newcastle from home, Arriva day tickets could do it - £12.80 for me and one kid. it pays to get me an explorer and one of the boys a £3.40 return to Durham from home, though, because it;s only a pound each way on a GNE service, between Durham and Newcastle. £9.70 + £3.40 + £2 = £15.10 plus, also, the lack of need to hang around ESBS a minute longer than needed, even if I miss the Castles Express, which snuggles up pretty well with the Arriva 22, in both directions, when the 22 runs on time.

The 554 will be serving Quorum Business Park again from 6th February

(28 Jan 2017, 3:25 pm)EL1TE wrote 5455 has entered service.......... on the X66...
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/140920997@...726871124/

Now on the correct allocation of 49s (didn't see yesterday)
(Go North East) NK66EWD / 5455 - Wright Streetlite by Jamie MP, on Flickr

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Driver Recruitment Day in Sunderland - Sunday 26 February

http://newsroom.gonortheast.co.uk/news/d...ary-216795

(30 Jan 2017, 2:14 pm)Jamie M wrote Now on the correct allocation of 49s (didn't see yesterday)
(Go North East) NK66EWD / 5455 - Wright Streetlite by Jamie MP, on Flickr

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

I am really liking this branding, as has been mentioned on here recently, I also think it would be good for those services which need some kind of branding but maybe not Flagship route branding, to use this type. Something such as the No: 9 would suit this style.

Any ideas as to when the next ones are due to arrive ready for the 49's.

---

How long does it take to refurbish a bus? Such as the EX: Durham Diamonds Citaros which have been sent away for refurb and to that type of standard.

I think the TynedaleXpress services X84/X85 - could do with a refurb either by receiving newer buses fully refurb'd or having the current Scanias refurb'd. Now that Arriva have introduced the Cross Pennine with refurbed buses, GNE need to offer a similar standard.