IFT - Infratil

[Rif-Raf]

quote:Originally posted by Paper Tiger

They could change the name today. When you are waiting for a bus you first see it head on so it is mainly a windscreen and a route number/destination.

Not according to the recent bulletin about the bus biz. It talks about how successful/important it has been to uniquely brand busses to specific routes to gain consumers familiarity and usage. The days of every bus being yellow are long gone.

[Snow Leopard]

quote:Originally posted by Rif-Raf

quote:Originally posted by Paper Tiger

They could change the name today. When you are waiting for a bus you first see it head on so it is mainly a windscreen and a route number/destination.

Not according to the recent bulletin about the bus biz. It talks about how successful/important it has been to uniquely brand busses to specific routes to gain consumers familiarity and usage. The days of every bus being yellow are long gone.

Sorry, I was posting from my experience as a bus user and not some marketing expert.

[Zaphod]

There could still be some room for advertising internally. I remember the ghastly old busses in Hamilton (before New Plymouth's 4 year old fleet was poached in the early 1990’s) used to have adverts that scrolled across LED signs installed near the driver.

I haven't seen this used anywhere for years.

[Toddy]

Zaphod

Is this what you are talking about....

Internal Signage
For as little as $8 a day you can display your advertisement on two advertising panels - one each side of the bus interior. Each panel measures 740mm x 305mm.

All on the isite website. Have a look at what is available. Its quite interesting.
http://www.isitemedia.co.nz

[Toddy]

BAA airport stats are down for March at all of its Scottish Airports due to the great weather at the beginning of the month. Year on year they are up at all airports so expect something similar from IFT.

Also just read this. The branding exercise does NOT always go to plan. Never seen a drunken Scotsman in my life!. This is right out of the FTB text book on advertising. Good laugh!

The airport is privately owned by Infratil, a New Zealand investment company which also owns Wellington International Airport. In April 2005, Infratil completed a major £3m refurbishment of the terminal building, and also controversially rebranded the airport using the phrase "Pure Dead Brilliant", taken straight from the Glasgow Patter. Some of this rebranding has been controversial, in particular the redecoration of the airport bar. The bar was rebranded in February 2006 with a logo depicting a man in a kilt, unconscious with an empty bottle of whisky. Despite objections that it promoted the wrong image of Scotland to foreign visitors and embarrassed local travellers, the airport management insisted the logo was "fun and visually stimulating". However, the logo was removed on 3 March 2006, only several weeks after its introduction, after the intervention of the South Ayrshire Licencing Board who said the logo trivialised excessive drinking

[Toddy]

This is what IFT supporters want to hear. From tvnz news.

Council backs congestion charges




Auckland road charges proposed

Apr 13, 2006

Auckland city councillors have endorsed a strategy to charge people for using the region's roads in a bid to address its transport crisis.


Congestion charging and parking levies are options mooted under the plans which could see motorists face fees of up to $50 a week.


The council's Transport and Urban Linkages Committee is supporting further investigation of the road pricing options.


Its chairman Richard Simpson says the charges are a way of both raising the funds to improve public transport and reducing congestion.


Simpson says the full council will consider the issue at the end of the month and a formal submission will be made to the Ministry of Transport.

[Toddy]

This is fantastic, and the great 'kiwi leave your car at home' trend has just started. Wait until petrol prices approach $2 a litre.
IFT will have to react quickly to ensure that the punters are happy.

Anyone out there catch the bus in Welllington? What is the current level of service like?

Commuters opt for buses, trains
15 April 2006
By ADAM RAY

Public transport operators are struggling to cope with soaring passenger numbers, as rising fuel prices force commuters to ditch their cars for buses and trains.


Petrol prices have gone up 24 cents a litre, and diesel by 30 cents a litre, this year.

Tranz Metro passenger numbers had grown by 7 per cent since last year, partly because of increased fuel costs, passenger manager Ross Hayward said.

The growth meant hundreds of extra passengers were catching commuter trains every morning, pushing already busy Tranz Metro services toward their capacity.

"The peak ones, they could not get any more full," he said.

Morning peak services were at their seating capacity, though there was usually standing room for passengers.

Passenger growth had been four times the expected level, Mr Hayward said. The only way to improve capacity was to put on more trains.

Greater Wellington regional council intends to boost passenger transport spending, but it will take three to four years to start replacing Tranz Metro's aging fleet.

"It's unfortunate it was not dealt with a few years ago," Mr Hayward said.

The council's land transport strategy has called for $1.3 billion worth of spending on public transport in the next decade, with $1.7 billion earmarked for roading projects.

Stagecoach executive chairman Ross Martin said bus passenger numbers in Wellington during March were up 4 per cent on the same time last year. "That's good for us. It implies people are voting with their feet, out of their cars."

March was normally a busy month for bus services as students returned to university. The extra passengers meant many buses were packed.

Stagecoach was negotiating with the regional council about putting on more services to cope with the demand, he said.

[Toddy]

The trend is your friend. Another article re public transport. This time from another bus company.

Fuel price boost for buses

19.04.06
By Owen Hembry


The rising price of fuel is boosting the business of bus service provider InterCity Coachlines.

Chief executive Malcolm Johns said results for the Easter period were yet to be determined but initial bookings had been 23 per cent up on last year.

Johns said rising petrol prices was leading more people to leave their cars at home. "We've seen a relatively steady rise overall," he said.

"We estimate something in the order of 6 to 8 per cent in the last 12 months of our passenger growth was fuel related."

The company carries about 1.1 million passengers each year and operates 130 daily services to 600 cities and towns nationwide.

There was no reason to believe this trend would not continue, he added. "If you are running your own vehicle you bear 100 per cent of the cost increase. If you're sitting on a coach with 40 others then the increase is shared among 40."

[Zaphod]

Could someone please explain the relationship of Hamilton's Go-Bus to IFT? I understand from previous posts on this thread, that (quote) "infratil executive chairman Lloyd Morrison said Morrison and Co, which manages Infratil's investments, had become a 41 per cent shareholder in Waikato bus company Go Buses. The experience led it to develop an interest in Stagecoach a couple of years ago."

Does this mean that IFT have a stake holding in Go Bus, or is this something that Morrison & Co have done independently?

[rmbbrave]

"CONGESTION" "TRAFFIC JAMS"

NZers don't know the meaning of the words!

I live in a city where the fastest form of above ground transport is the motorbike.

- the second fastest is a bicycle

- the third fastest is a car

- and the bus comes last.

And when it is snowing and the roads are covered in ice, walking is faster then driving. And riding bicycles or motorbikes is only for the foolhardy.