(21 Feb 2020, 12:56 pm)Andreos1 wrote 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?
I've believed for quite a while that, bar a few key routes (including things like Airport routes), a strong corporate livery with minimal route branding is the way forward. Things like WiFi, USB sockets, NSAs are becoming standard spec, so going forward operators need to do a better job of marketing other benefits.
Journey times, fares in comparison to parking, fuel, insurance etc, perks of using it on a night into town in comparison to driving is what they need to focus on moving forward. Daytime services, while passenger numbers will probably be slightly lower than they used to be, probably aren't the main issue - evening services using the same vehicles with substantially lower passenger numbers are. Essentially leisure users need to increase - that can only really be done with attractive fares.