the top deck is unique and deserves to be sold as such

A couple of weeks ago, the family took a bus from Swanage to Bournemouth and were lucky enough to have the holy grail of seats - top deck, front row.

We didn't start the journey in them but managed to bag the spaces (we had our eyes on them...) after other passengers had left.

It's easy to see why they're so sought after.
You get a great view, where you think you're going to crash at every corner. You get to see into people's gardens and offices, and you get to see the tops of things you've never seen before.

The top deck journey (and not just the front row) really is unique in transport terms as you get to see the landscape from a totally different perspective.

So why isn't it sold as such?

Bus travel needs to grab onto the coattails of anything possible and take advantage of it. Anything that will position the product differently in the eyes of the customer - be it through the quality of the idea or the quality of its execution. Thinking differently from the usual arguments.

'Let someone else do the driving'. Three passengers in a car of four are doing that.

'Have a drink'. Not everyone drinks and hardly relevant for most journeys.

'Free wi-fi'. Hardly works and loads of people are happy to use their endless data allowance.

Same old, same old. Seen it a thousand times.

Let's up the game a touch, shall we?