Passenger News
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Bid to boost buses
THE CONFEDERATION of Briti changing its name to the Bus £500,000 campaign to rescue the The change of name, which is designed to give the trade association a name which will be more readily understood by the public and the media, was agreed at a CPT council meeting last week when the Good Relations Group was awarded the public relations arm of the longawaited industry campaign, and Ogilvy and Mather a selective press advertising contract.
There is to be-a strong parliamentary campaign to highlight the damage which is being caused to the industry, and increasing links are to be forged between BCC and MPs.
This will be backed up by a consumer campaign and press advertising, in order to create a ground base of pressure upon sh Road Passenger Transport is and Coach Council as part of a fortunes of Britain's bus industry.
MPs. Efforts are to be made to contact such groups as Women's Institutes and local newspaper readers' clubs, and national advertising, perhaps using the slogan "We've all missed the bus", will help drive the message home.
At a national level, BCC will be represented by its president and director general, and there will be regional spokesmen in each television area. BCC is looking for quality in this venture, and will reserve the right to impose a spokesman on an area where no one suitable is found locally.
A spokesman stressed that this would not be a personal; slight against any individual.; "But we must get the industry's case across," she said. All BCC members will be issued with a campaign manual to help them participate in the campaign, and they will be encouraged to canvass grass roots interest groups such as pensioners who could suffer from further contraction of the bus system.
They will also be trained to write to MPs and editors of local and regional newspapers, while regional spokesmen will be expected to participate in tv and radio programmes, including phone-ins.
A campaign programme has already been agreed for implementation between June 1 and October, when the campaign will be launched to the public, but early publication of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the industry could lead to a change of emphasis. Local spokesmen will be recruited and trained by the autumn.