Route Branding Gone Mad

[Mutant Lemming]

Go North-East must take the chocolate digestive award when it comes to route branding. Not only do they have so many 'brands' but who came up with Whey Aye Five-O ?
I suppose there are some similarities between Waikiki and South Shields - the locals wear T-shirts and shorts all the time even when, in South Shields, it is minus five and snowing.


http://www.simplygo.com/our-services/

 

[Ivo]

Who designed the logos and identities of the 56 and 57, a hippy?

 

[142094]

Probably makes no difference as no-one will ever use that name in conversation. Not sure if all of their buses are named but the majority I see around Newcastle seem to have some sort of branding.

 

[bb21]

There was an article in Buses last month by Doug Rose (MD of FWT) on the frenzy of route branding and information overload at bus stops. He made some very good points in there.

Whatever happened to the good old route numbers? This is one aspect of Trentbarton that has become a pet-hate of mine.

 

[WestCoast]

Yes, Go North East don't half go for the individual route branding!

I guess it's something different to the likes of Arriva and First, as their route branding efforts in years gone by has been pretty poor. First's coloured lines like in York where the dot-matrix just changes "White/Blue/Green/Red Line" doesn't exactly add much value!

I was in Edinburgh recently and noticed that Lothian who used to rather conservative in their branding are taking presentation and route branding more seriously than ever. I've always liked Lothian's approaches though - things like a really clear information panel about services and fares at every stop is something that every council/PTE/bus company across the country should copy - but they don't.

 

[Schnellzug]

Theyn alway say that it's been a great commercial success, but some of the things they and Trent, who are also very fond of this, do seem to smack of desperation, and it must get confusing,not to say embarrassing, if someone asks what bus do you get to somewhere or other, and you have to say "oh, you want the Supercalifragilistic" or the "Arkansas Chuggabug" or whatever. Would it really not be simpler just to have a numbver 3 or a number 27?

 

[142094]

Route numbers are alright until they start changing the routes, or two companies use the same numbers for different routes in the same area.

 

[Ivo]

Southend always used to have minimal branding for the most part, but at one point (2003-ish) practically everything was branded - and everything was on the wrong route too. I somehow doubt that most residents of Purfleet (where Arriva operate the Sunday 44) are particularly bothered about knowing that the 29 goes along Fairfax Drive instead of via the hospital!

On a mroe serious note though, apparently Southend had the very first website for one specific bus route, www route9 co uk (long closed down, to the point that I never even had the chance to look at it! [spaces used to disable the hyperlink])...

 

[MCR247]

There was an article in Buses last month by Doug Rose (MD of FWT) on the frenzy of route branding and information overload at bus stops. He made some very good points in there.

Whatever happened to the good old route numbers? This is one aspect of Trentbarton that has become a pet-hate of mine.

I love route branding. Therefore I love Trent Barton. I also love how Nottingham City Transport fail at it, as well as routemarketing


"You're in heaven on route 11"
"Don't drive take the sky blue 45"

Yeah, ok...

 

[WestCoast]

Blackpool Transport's Metro Coastlines across the Fylde Coast in Lancashire was arguably the most well-implemented example of route branding in the country for the time that it operated. Each bus route had a number and colour (no slogans or anything like that) and the bus was always that colour or "pool" black - the wrong coloured bus operating a route almost never happened. Each bus stop had a strip of that colour with the number. For example, I remember that the number 11 was turquoise and so the buses, timetables and stops featured that colour heavily.

They scrapped it in 2010 in an effort to save costs.

 

[Tramfan]

Not particularly a fan of Go North East's excessive route branding policies. Buses seem to get reallocated quite often as well, meaning lots of repainting.

Blackpool Transport had a good route branding scheme, whereby all buses carried the same style of livery, but with different colour signifying different routes.
There was a specific livery for non route branded buses (a small handful of each type) and it was rare to see branded buses on the wrong route. Unfortunately they abandoned this 18 months ago in favour of one (very bland) fleet livery.

 

[Schnellzug]

I always think that operators that have no branding at all (e.g. Bournemouth Yellow Buses) look so much tidier than ones that decide to splash out on branding all over the shop, and then, of course, decide to fiddle around with it regularly (viz. Wilts & Dorset, who've now decided to change their rather smart 'More' branding to a lighter shade of blue, with some typically vacuous Best Impressions slogans. While the Pool-Wimborne service become 'More', than was 'deMored' (Lessed?), though what difference it made I've no idea since it stayed the same frequency and with the same Vehicles.

 

[Nonsense]

Go North-East must take the chocolate digestive award when it comes to route branding. Not only do they have so many 'brands' but who came up with Whey Aye Five-O ?
I suppose there are some similarities between Waikiki and South Shields - the locals wear T-shirts and shorts all the time even when, in South Shields, it is minus five and snowing.


http://www.simplygo.com/our-services/

Whey Aye Five-O very funny. Top marks to a management team with a sense of humour.

 

[WestCoast]

I always think that operators that have no branding at all (e.g. Bournemouth Yellow Buses) look so much tidier than ones that decide to splash out on branding all over the shop, and then, of course, decide to fiddle around with it regularly (viz. Wilts & Dorset, who've now decided to change their rather smart 'More' branding to a lighter shade of blue, with some typically vacuous Best Impressions slogans. While the Pool-Wimborne service become 'More', than was 'deMored' (Lessed?), though what difference it made I've no idea since it stayed the same frequency and with the same Vehicles.

I think that the latest branding of Lothian is a good compromise. A very smart traditional maroon "municipal" livery which gives the buses a sense of uniformity with individual route branding incorporated more subtly for certain major routes. The interiors are also very snazzy.

It's a good alternative (IMO) to all these 'Best Impressions' liveries/slogans that are all the rage.

 

[Ze Random One]

I, personally, think the route branding is quite helpful.
1. The North East tops the league tables for adult illiteracy (almost 8% of the adult population failed or failed to take GCSE or CSE English, which means they didn't even get a G grade). With equivalent failures in numeracy, it means that a good portion of the customer-base will have some difficulty understanding the timetables and route numbers. Consistent brands are good for these people because they know that "it's the sky blue coloured bus"
2. For similar reasons, those with sight difficulties will have an easier time finding the right bus when it's hurtling down the street at 40mph.
3. When you're on a street shared with a number of routes, being able to have a good idea if your bus is coming before you've been able to read the destination allows you to prepare in good time, giving the driver more time to decelerate, because you can stick your hand out earlier. This makes for a more comfortable ride for everyone.
4. For the same reason you have more time to get your fare ready for the driver.
5. It raises awareness of the route amongst those that don't use the bus ("oh I didn't realise I could get that bus to here...")

To be fair, the effect is the same as the consistent use of First's "overground" colour-scheme, where this is reflected on the buses themselves.

Whatever the method that is used, I do think some kind of branding is very helpful in this city. In particular, the presence of branded buses helps discourage Go NE from using inappropriate buses on a route, because the model of bus that has been planned for a route is the most likely to actually turn up on the route.

Where Go NE have, in my eyes, done well with the information / branding / etc. on the outside of the bus, they have not done so well on the inside. I was hoping that the TV screens installed would eventually be used as part of an iBus-esque approach (tell the passenger where they are), but sadly, only the QuayLink has been outfitted with the appropriate equipment for that.

 

[markydh]

I was and continue to be a fan of route branding. Used well it can be extremely effective. Like every individual and organistation in life, Go North East don't always get it right but it is proven that it is successful in increasing patronage and profitability. I actually believe going the full hog and branding in Go North East fashion is the way to do it. Brands stuck on the side of a corporate livery often get a little lost and are practically ineffective, particularly some of the appalling efforts of Stagecoach and Arriva round these parts. Of eveything he has achieved, the introduction of route branding stands as outgoing GNE MD Peter Huntley's greatest legacy in my view.

 

[150222]

Go-North East's X9/X10 Middlesbrough to Newcastle routes used to have a very nice livery on their buses (Volvo B7TL I think?). Now it is just plain maroon which IMO looks even better. That's when it's not being substituted for a white single decker (Volvo B10RLE I think?) or a Go-North East red livered step-entrance double decker (Volvo Palatine I believe?).

I am not good with buses.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Whey Aye Five-O very funny. Top marks to a management team with a sense of humour.

The current avatar is of said Whey Aye Five-O in Chester-le-Street on it's way from Sunny South Shields to Durham.
It even has a kind of surfs up livery. Can't say I've ever seen anyone surfing at South Shields but I'm sure someone has.

 

[markydh]

Go-North East's X9/X10 Middlesbrough to Newcastle routes used to have a very nice livery on their buses (Volvo B7TL I think?). Now it is just plain maroon which IMO looks even better. That's when it's not being substituted for a white single decker (Volvo B10RLE I think?) or a Go-North East red livered step-entrance double decker (Volvo Palatine I believe?).

On the contrary, the current 'temporary' livery with awful logo is terrible in my view, purely for he fact that it was always intended as being temporary. The X9 and X10 are being relaunched later in the year with new high-spec deckers and almost certainly a new livery and brand name.

 

[dvboy]

Route numbers are alright until they start changing the routes, or two companies use the same numbers for different routes in the same area.

Or when the pte set the numbers and duplicate the same numbers for the same company in adjoining towns:roll:

 

[tbtc]

The number fifty has been used for the Durham - South Shields service for as long as I can remember, South Shields is on the coast, the pun fits the local dialect pretty well, I quite like it.

But then in Sheffield First had a Student service branded as the "universEIGHTY"...

In all my years of living on an "Overground" route I've never heard anyone referring to it by it's colour ("what time's the next Orange Line into town due?", but it does seem to help people sort out services relatively simply.

What I like about Go Ahead is that they use the "named" routes as a form of advertising, it's not just a name, it's an excuse to shout about the places on the route (advertising other "days out" etc)/ the frequency... the whole package.

And despite the huge number of different "brands" that they operate, I can't think that I've ever seen one on the "wrong" route (though I see incorrectly branded buses in Sheffield almost daily).

 

[Statto]

I don't mind route branding as such, as passengers will remember the route more easily, but sometimes it goes too far. I hate half arsed route branding companies like Arriva use, as vehicles branded for routes, but will be regularly allocated to other routes, & i think in that case what's the point of route branding when vehicles are going to be used on other routes.

 

[150222]

With First West Yorkshire's Halifax division a few years ago it was incredibly common to see 'Lime Line' route 576 branded buses on the 503 to Huddersfield and 'Orange Line' 503 branded buses on the 576 to Bradford. Originally they were quite good at keeping to the route however later they were used in a common pool on any route including services to Leeds, Rochdale/Burnley via Todmorden as well as local routes. Think they're all de-branded now though. With neighbouring First Bradford the exact opposite happens and it is incredibly rare to see buses on the wrong route.

 

[Badger]

Or when the pte set the numbers and duplicate the same numbers for the same company in adjoining towns:roll:

I still don't understand what they were on when they decided to do that.

Worse than that, they renamed the 503 to be 3, which was the number of an entirely seperate bus running for part in the same corridor, which had to be renamed the 803.

...besides the fact there are already several "3" services.

 

[142094]

First's coloured lines like in York where the dot-matrix just changes "White/Blue/Green/Red Line" doesn't exactly add much value!

Think the colours were to show the different Park and Ride services, but again no-one ever says "I'm taking the xx Line to Askham Bar".

 

[dvboy]

I still don't understand what they were on when they decided to do that.

Worse than that, they renamed the 503 to be 3, which was the number of an entirely seperate bus running for part in the same corridor, which had to be renamed the 803.

...besides the fact there are already several "3" services.

Yep, (hypothetically) when @nxwestmidlands talk about a diversion on service 6 is that the Birmingham-Solihull bus or the Walsall-Sutton bus or the Wolverhampton-Wobaston bus? :roll:

None of NWM's recent changes in Wolverhampton make any sense to me. A bus station where the allocation of stands to routes appears purely random. Cross city services that serve no purpose and don't serve the bus station. Why would anyone in Tettenhall want to go all the way to Dudley?

 

[Badger]

None of NWM's recent changes in Wolverhampton make any sense to me. A bus station where the allocation of stands to routes appears purely random. Cross city services that serve no purpose and don't serve the bus station. Why would anyone in Tettenhall want to go all the way to Dudley?

I live near Goodrich, Marstons, and all that. Along that corridor is the:

3 (Wolverhampton... sorry, Castlecroft, to Fordhouses)
63 (Wolverhampton to Fordhouses)
76 (Wolverhampton to Stafford)
803 (Wolverhampton to Brewood)
878 (Wolverhampton to Penkridge? Stafford?)
88 (Wolverhampton to Staffordshire villages)
6 (Wolverhampton to Fordhouses) stops sort of nearby.

Not a single one of which goes into the bus station. Nothing. Zilch. (Ok, the 6 now does, I'll give you that one. But it didn't until we complained.) (The 63 doesn't stop in the bus station until leaving Wolverhampton again as the 64 and going all around the wrekin).

The 25 comes close but it's not regular (30 mins).

 

[dvboy]

Meanwhile stand P now sits unuaed.

 

[Anon Mouse]

I loath the GNE route branding and cheesy names, its embarrasing! It also causes problems when a different route branded bus ends up on the wrong route (which happens quite often here in Gateshead). Personally I thought the Go Ahead era I grew up with (Go Ahead Gateshead, Coastline, VFM Buses, Northern, Wear Buses, Metro Taxis etc etc) was the best and maybe the furthest broute branding could go. Now, there are too many different colours, too many silly names and a worse service.

Also my last email to GNE about the lack of information at stand N at Gateshead Interchange and the no show of my bus to work a couple of weeks ago went unanswered. I am not a fan of GNE at the moment and makes me wonder where this opinion of GNE being the dogs ding dongs that some people have actually comes from!

 

[Schnellzug]

I do think that the general notion that Go Ahead in general are an example for all to follow does seem to rest very heavily on Oxford and Brighton; certainly Go Ahead South Coast seems, as remarked earlier, to endlessly fiddle with rebrandings and adjusting timetables (and often cutting services quite ruthlessly); and Damory, Wilts & Dorset's subsidiary for mainly contract work, has made a right old hash of things laltely, and no mistake.
And their rail franchises have a sometimes, varied reputation.