Revamped Nexus website is ready to go

Apr 8 2010 by John Hill, The Journal

THE NEW website for North East transport provider Nexus will make it easier to plan a journey, as well as work out what to do when you get there.

The company has been working with Newcastle web design agency Orange Bus for the last three months to overhaul the four-year-old site, which covers rail, bus, ferry and Metro services in the region. It is set to go online on Wednesday.

Industry peers voted Claremont Road-based Orange Bus as the Digital Agency of the Year in 2009, and it boasts clients such as Ringtons Tea and Coffee. Co-founder Mike Parker said the firm would try to push further into the transport sector in the coming months.

He said: “This gives us even more credibility within the sector.”

Orange Bus won two tenders to overhaul the site, beating eight rival UK design agencies. It focused on expanding information on destinations served by Nexus transport, expanding the current Grand Days Out section of the site.

Mr Parker said: “You don’t really get on a bus or a Metro train just for the sake of it. You do it to go somewhere.

“We wanted the site to be more focused on destinations. So if you want to go to Tynemouth, the site will focus on what you can do when you get there, with listings of restaurants and activities.”

The company, which employs 16 people, also said that it had focused on providing real-time travel updates when buses or trains will arrive as well as a menu on the front page that will allow users to select their start and end point and receive timetable information. It is also looking to adapt the site for easier mobile use.

Nexus said it site traffic had already jumped 40% in the last two years. It said it had been attracted by Orange Bus as “it promised to deliver within a tight timeframe and a challenging budget”. Communications director Andy Bairstow said: “They took time to understand what we and our market want to keep ahead of the expectations of our users.”