(06/08/2020 21:03)Rick Hunter Wrote: [ -> ]There is currently only 1 bus on the 288 at present. By coincidence both Winchams enthusiast drivers were also on 288 today.
Based on photos on Flickr an enthusiast driver also managed to drive a Versa on the 288 previously, as well as on a late night rail replacement bus service between Knutsford and Chester.
Yes he was on the 288 yesterday. He does have a habit of turning up with oddities.
(07/08/2020 09:33)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]Based on photos on Flickr an enthusiast driver also managed to drive a Versa on the 288 previously, as well as on a late night rail replacement bus service between Knutsford and Chester.
I wonder if Lucky Seven Taxis (based in Stoke) realise the buses bearing their adverts encouraging people to download their app are being used on services around the Knutsford, Wilmslow, Altrincham, Northwich & Macclesfield areas?
Several drivers have commented on that. The buses were transferred from Longton pretty soon after the ads were fitted. One of the 2 ex Goodwins Enviro200s went down to Crewe for inspection and came back with a similar ad for Crewe based taxi firm. While it is technically allocated to Crewe it, along with several others, spends most of it's time at Wincham.
(08/08/2020 09:47)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder if Lucky Seven Taxis (based in Stoke) realise the buses bearing their adverts encouraging people to download their app are being used on services around the Knutsford, Wilmslow, Altrincham, Northwich & Macclesfield areas?
[quote='Rick Hunter' pid='138576' dateline='1596925446']
Several drivers have commented on that. The buses were transferred from Longton pretty soon after the ads were fitted. One of the 2 ex Goodwins Enviro200s went down to Crewe for inspection and came back with a similar ad for Crewe based taxi firm. While it is technically allocated to Crewe it, along with several others, spends most of it's time at Wincham.
More importantly, why on earth are a bus company advertising a competitor ?. Would Tesco promote Sainsburys ?. Of course not.
Most bus companies don't deal directly with the advertiser. An agency rents the space on the sides/rears of buses and then sells the space to whoever wants to advertise.
(09/08/2020 07:49)KXW212 Wrote: [ -> ]More importantly, why on earth are a bus company advertising a competitor ?. Would Tesco promote Sainsburys ?. Of course not.
(09/08/2020 08:25)Rick Hunter Wrote: [ -> ]Most bus companies don't deal directly with the advertiser. An agency rents the space on the sides/rears of buses and then sells the space to whoever wants to advertise.
They use some agency for bus advertising - when they had their full website live there was some contact details for a 3rd party for anyone interesting in advertising on their buses. I'm pretty sure the agency also put their own adverts on the back of some of D&G's buses at one point advertising the benefits on advertising on a bus.
(09/08/2020 07:49)KXW212 Wrote: [ -> ]More importantly, why on earth are a bus company advertising a competitor ?. Would Tesco promote Sainsburys ?. Of course not.
Question is perhaps is a taxi company really a competitor of a bus company? Say you lived in Congleton and you wanted to go somewhere in the Stoke area, you might think getting a taxi all the way would be too expensive but might consider getting a taxi from where the 94 bus stops, rather than a long walk or fussing about with connecting buses and long waits.
Another question is are the adverts on buses aimed at people using the buses or other road users? At a bus station like Warrington or Macclesfield passengers boarding the bus will have no idea is there's an advert on the back of their bus but the drivers of the cars following the buses in and out of the town will.
(09/08/2020 11:00)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]Question is perhaps is a taxi company really a competitor of a bus company? Say you lived in Congleton and you wanted to go somewhere in the Stoke area, you might think getting a taxi all the way would be too expensive but might consider getting a taxi from where the 94 bus stops, rather than a long walk or fussing about with connecting buses and long waits.
Another question is are the adverts on buses aimed at people using the buses or other road users? At a bus station like Warrington or Macclesfield passengers boarding the bus will have no idea is there's an advert on the back of their bus but the drivers of the cars following the buses in and out of the town will.
Of course it is in competition. I had rather strong 'words' with an agency that tried that on a few years back trying to push ads selling cars. It's called protecting your business. If you want to see taxi's adversely affecting bus revenue look no further than Corby, where they are a serious problem to Stagecoach.
(09/08/2020 20:34)KXW212 Wrote: [ -> ]Of course it is in competition. I had rather strong 'words' with an agency that tried that on a few years back trying to push ads selling cars. It's called protecting your business. If you want to see taxi's adversely affecting bus revenue look no further than Corby, where they are a serious problem to Stagecoach.
It used to be that 5 people sharing a black cab for a local journey cost much the same as a bus. Now 3 people can share that cab more cheaply than a bus. Bus fares have reached ridiculous levels, but then they're not controlled. Black cab fares are kept artificially low by local councils.