Catch The Bus Week

 

GREENER Journeys, the sustainable transport group, is launching a major drive to get the public out of cars and onto the bus.

Claire Haigh, Chief Executive, will join Transport Minister Norman Baker to start Catch the Bus Week 2013, a national campaign that will run from the 29th of April to the 5th of May. The campaign aims to increase awareness of the benefits of bus travel across the UK, and to encourage first time or infrequent users to give the bus a try.  Catch the Bus week is a key part of Greener Journey’s drive to persuade people to take a billion fewer car journeys. Catch The Bus Week will promote the many benefits of bus travel including; convenience, value for money and environmental benefits - reducing the carbon footprint from transport and improving local air quality. The campaign will show that everyone has a time when the bus really is the best way to travel.

Plymouth Citybus will be offering cut price Dayrider tickets during the event through its recently launched mobile ticketing app (£2 for Child / Student and £3 for Adults). The app is available on both Android and iPhone platforms and has already had a staggering 5,000 downloads in its first 6 months. The app allows passengers to buy tickets on their smart phone, making it a quick and effective way to travel, whilst having added environmental benefits by cutting down on the issuing of paper tickets. You can find out what other operators are doing across the country by visiting www.catchthebusweek.co.uk

Claire explained: “Since 2010 Greener Journeys has been striving to take one billion car journeys off the road and Catch the Bus Week will help us reach this aim. Buses play a crucial role in our society from getting children to school, carrying people to work, the shops or to their local park or swimming pool day in day out. Buses support the economy. “Buses also help reduce congestion on the roads, promote social inclusion by providing a vital link to those without other means and reduce all our carbon footprints and travel’s effect on the environment.

“This campaign will be a springboard for greater public attention of the bus’s many benefits and I hope will encourage both car drivers and infrequent bus users to give the bus a try. I am delighted to be launching such an important campaign.”

Richard Stevens, Managing Director at Plymouth Citybus said: ”Being part of the greener journeys campaign is a must for Plymouth Citybus. It is a great campaign and really promotes the benefits of bus travel. Giving a discount on day tickets via our mobile app will hopefully work in two ways. Show non bus users that we are innovative and a lot has changed for the better in the past couple of years, whilst also showing our current passengers just how quick and easy mobile ticketing is to use, reducing the amount of paper tickets we issue”.

Pymouth Citybus

Meanwhile First Devon & Cornwall are also joining in:

We will donate £1 to Macmillan Cancer Support for every extra registered bus journey taken on our buses during 'Catch the Bus Week' from Monday 29 April to Sunday 5 May. All of our bus companies in the UK are supporting the campaign so no matter where you are you can support us to raise up to £20,000 for Macmillan, FirstGroup's national charity partner. You just need to tell us about your extra First bus journey online and £1 will be donated to Macmillan.

With fast and frequent services in most towns and cities, the bus is a great way to get around town whatever your reason for travel. You don't need to worry about the cost, hassle or environmental impact of taking the car, it's the answer to long queues, finding a parking space and the rising petrol costs. Our buses can take you to your destination and there's usually a bus stop less than 5 minutes away from most people's homes. Our FirstDay ticket will suit you if you're looking for unlimited bus travel all day around your area.

There is a nice simple web page HERE where you can enter details of your journey to ensure that Macmillans get their money. Well worth supporting!

The other major operator supporting the week is Stagecoach:

Stagecoach Bus is joining forces with GREENER Journeys and other local bus providers to launch a major drive to get the public out of cars and onto the bus. The initiative, which will run for a week from 29 April will see leading bus companies across the country encouraging their local communities to ditch their cars in favour of a greener mode of transport; their local bus network. Stagecoach Bus across the country will be promoting the week by arranging an array of activities including flash mob events, giveaways offering free dayrider bus tickets, promotional leaflets explaining the benefits of the bus and entertainment on many buses.

To find out more about what is happening in your area please visit your local homepage from the 'select location' drop down menu at the top right of this page.

Well I did and there is no mention of anything happening locally in Devon but then the Stagecoach web site is not the best so it may be that I just cant find it!

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