Go Goodwins

[knutstransport]

RE: Go Goodwins

(07/07/2020 14:21)KXW212 Wrote:  The most important piece of info a bus can have is it's route number and destination. It's completely irrelevant to your average punter what colour it is, or what company name is on the drivers shirt and tie. In some cases a 'brand' can help. Transdev for example are all over this, with names such as Witchway, people rarely if ever refer to it as the X43. In the case of the 391/392 perhaps it will get referred to as the Little Gem, in time, although with CECs dire performance it will probably with another operator in 12 months, there is nothing in the area it can be confused with. There might be occasions a non branded bus is used, but so long as the number/destination is programmed correctly there is no problem. There are many instances, not sure why Rotala have been singled out, although it is currently on trend to knock them appearently. I'm not seeing any commects regarding services like the 197 for example. Stagecoach deckers in, well, take your pick, Corporate stripes, new corporate white/blue or green/yellow hybrid double decks and on Sunday a different operator (Diamond Bus NW) with blue midibuses and the common theme ?, a clear route number and destination at all times. That works OK and has done for some time. So why shouldn't it on the 391/2. There's new kit and a new brand and nothing to criticise about the operation or presentation.

I don't see any criticism of Rotala in this thread - someone commented a 391/392 driver was in a Rotala branded uniform and in response I said people probably won't notice the uniform if he's in the driver's seat but added if he's walking around in Rotala uniform then people may not realise he's the driver of the 391/392.

I agree that if the regular vehicles used are branded a certain way the regular passengers will refer to the brand on the bus - we used to have some passengers, especially the elderly ones, refer to Cheshire Connect being a bus operator, even though the buses actually said "Cheshire Connect operated by ...."

Say you were from Hazel Grove and you had a job interview in Poynton and you never normally go there. You board the 09:10 bus at Stockport - it's Little Gem branded and a 391 bus. Your get back to the bus stop at 10:45 expecting to get the 11:10 391 bus back to Hazel Grove. However, as soon as you get to the bus stop a big blue bus appears with 392 Stockport on the front. Without being a bus enthusiast, how do you know that's the same operator and it's actually the 10:10 running late due to a Little Gem vehicle breaking down, opposed to a different service you were unaware of? Do you wave it down and hope your Little Gem ticket is valid or just ignore it and wait for the 11:10 bus as you know that's the same operator and your ticket will be valid?

With branded routes when the 'wrong vehicles' are used they often put something on the destination display to indicate it's a branded route e.g. I once saw one of the small Warrington's Own Buses branded Enviros on the CAT6 route and it kept flashing up on the destination display "CHESHIRE CAT", so if anyone thought Cheshire CAT was an operator opposed to a brand used by Warrington's Own Buses it's cleared up.