Passenger campaign earns £2.5m
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The Bus and Coach Council Buses mean Business points out that West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive's "Put your bottom on a bus" campaign earned an estimated E2.5 million worth of new business in the county. Operators in other areas are hoping to follow with similar promotions.
It also acknowledges the high standard of passenger facilities in West Yorkshire. Dewsbury Bus Station was voted the Best Kept Bus Station in Britain last year.
Director General of the WY PTE Mr Bill Cottham, who is a regional spokesman for the BCC, said: "While the public in general may take buses for granted, we as operators certainly cannot become complacent! We like to think that just the opposite is the case. Here in West Yorkshire we have paved the way for many improvements, not only for the everyday traveller, but for the disabled too.
"We have also significantly widened the travel horizons for those simply wanting to enjoy a day out in the countryside through our popular Wayfarer schemes. Efficency has been greatly improved while costs have been reduced reflected in the fact that, for the second year running, we have returned an operating surplus and an increased number of passengers. On the PTE's directly operated services in Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield we carried 189 million people last year -si x million more than the previous year."
Figures for the whole of the MetroBus operations including those of the National Bus Company subsidiaries (West Riding Automobile Co Ltd, Yorkshire Woollen, West Yorkshire Road Car Co and Yorkshire Traction) show that 284 million people travelled in the county in 1983/84.
WY PTE say they have set out to show that they are an efficent business, as are many other opeators in the country and, "while there is always room to improve, we have come a long way in recent years."