(19 Feb 2020, 10:27 pm)Adrian wrote As others have said, the majority of customers won't have a clue what Euro 6 is or means. I'd be surprised if the majority are interested in operational matters either.
Interested re: the comment on paying staff in line with inflation. Are you saying they're consistent at making pay offers either above or inline with inflation?
Spot on. There's a lot of talk from operators at the moment about congestion and making buses (and public transport in general) more attractive to try and combat it, but I'm not sure what they hope to achieve by further pricing people away from it.
Stagecoach's operation in the North East is very much no-frills. They have a national model and they continue to make square pegs fit into round holes, wherever they look to operate. There's no attempt to even try and encourage people out of their car, unlike GNE for example, who have continued to innovate over a number of years and try new things. The new buses and spec on the X30, in my opinion, being a really good example.
Its going to take more than just the local authority and Government to help combat congestion. The real challenge starts at the operators doors.
I don't think the spec currently being promoted on the X30 will be able to sustain itself as anything different in the not too distant future.
I genuinely think it (or at least the majority of it) will become the norm.
It's gonna be an interesting time for commercial and marketing depts as they come up with new ways to attract passengers.
I think we are seeing the slow decline of the route branding fad, data deals are getting better and battery life is lasting longer. Will there be any need for operators to spec these elements?
I am glad there was a re-jig of the GNE zoning structure.
I'm glad there 24 hour ticket was introduced.
Too little, too late? It's nearly the end of Feb, I've not used a UK bus since the second week in December and I'm an 'enthusiast'.
What about 'ordinary' punters?