all change for bus companies & how they sell themselves

Since deregulation, bus companies have been selling themselves to those who can make a difference to their business - namely, the customer on the street.

Increase your ridership, and you increase your chance of being successful. But times are changing. 

Franchising (and similar arrangements) means that the responsibility for selling bus travel as a mode passes from the operator to the authority, and the search for new customers becomes a public rather than a private endeavour.

The person who can make a real difference to their business is now the person in the boardroom. The person responsible for dishing out five-year contracts. 

So, bus companies are subsequently moving away from selling tickets to punters and putting their money into selling their suitability as a transport partner for local authorities.

This means that in many parts of the country, advertising campaigns by the likes of First, Stagecoach and Arriva will be nowhere near as prevalent. And as far as the eye can see, long-standing, local marketing teams are being streamlined.

But whoever is doing the advertising, let's hope the real winner is that customer on the street.