National Express announces West Midlands marketing plans
National Express has announced its plans for a marketing campaign in West Midlands as part of its half year results.
The company, which announced £131.6million revenue on UK buses for the first six months of the year, announced that it will be working on the Transforming Bus Travel plan for the West Midlands, which aims to modernise and improve the quality of bus travel in the region.
As part of that plan, the first 120 buses of a £23 million annual investment will start to operate from September 2011.
National Express said in its report: “Through the second half of the year, a targeted marketing campaign will be directed at key user groups, such as students and central Birmingham commuters.”
The report suggests that the campaign will look at how ‘Bus offers a greener, affordable alternative at a time of high petrol costs’.
It has been said that the campaign will also include a smart card, similar to London’s Oyster card, which the company says has uplifted passenger volumes elsewhere.
It was reported that the West Midlands Bus business delivered a 6% commercial revenue growth in the first six months of the year.