New buses are just the ticket for Go North-East

Dec 14 2007 by Graeme King, The Journal

MULTI-MILLION pound investment in new buses by Go North-East has boosted passenger numbers in the first success of a radical overhaul of the company.

The Gateshead-based division of Newcastle’s Go-Ahead Group has been introducing dozens of new buses over the last 18 months, with many carrying individual brands for the routes they operate on.

Now managing director Peter Huntley, a former public transport consultant who has made many changes at Go North-East, says passenger numbers for September, October and November have been 2.5% ahead of 2006. If this trend continues for a full year, it would take overall numbers up from 70 million to 71.75million.

Mr Huntley has previously highlighted individual Go routes for showing increases in passenger numbers, but has not reported overall growth before.

He said: “The rise is 2.5% for November, compared with November last year, and there is a similar trend for September and October. That compares with the industry position where there is around 1% overall growth.

“However levels of response have been quite variable – on some upgraded routes from the Washington area we have seen close to 20% passenger growth, but in more far flung parts, we have seen only modest growth.

“The overall star performers are the Cobalt business park services in North Tyneside where there has been a phenomenal amount of new jobs and investment and we have a partnership with the park owners.”

Mr Huntley said Go has benefited not only from introducing new buses, but also from insisting on high specification vehicles. The company has been buying Mercedes buses, costing around £150,000 rather than £110,000 for a more standard vehicle, as passengers appreciate the higher specification and this drives passenger numbers up.

He said: “We always like to have the fanciest, most expensive bus, but it costs £40,000 extra per bus, so the question is ‘can we justify it?’ The results show we can. The cost of a bus is written down over 15 years, so it’s worth spending more on them.”

Adding to Go’s existing investment in buses, the company will be introducing tickets by text in the new year, where passengers can download a code to their mobile as a form of electronic ticket.

A new transfer ticket will also be introduced to allow passengers to use both bus and Metro in one journey.

And Mr Huntley and his team are also introducing a smart card ticketing system to fit in with Nexus’s investment in the technology at their city centre stations.

Yesterday’s news of Go North-East’s success was against the background of a trading statement from Go-Ahead Group which showed the business was operating in line with expectations.

The company said it was experiencing “strong” trading which would see an encouraging improvement in operating profits for the six months to December 31, up from last year’s figure of £55.2m.