08/04/2009
- Home movers to receive free bus travel in new Stagecoach campaign
- Benefits of greener, smarter bus travel highlighted in ‘Home Movers Pack’
- Stress-free introduction to public transport for new residents
Transport giant Stagecoach is aiming to take the stress out of moving house by providing free bus travel for home movers.
The national ‘Stagecoach Home Movers’ campaign is offering people moving into new homes a special pack containing a voucher for seven days’ free transport on the company's local bus network.
New property owners will also be provided with information on the benefits of bus travel, as well as a local bus network map and timetable details.
The campaign – which uses telemarketing to identify recent home movers - will initially target more than 4,000 homes in Sheffield and Barnsley in Yorkshire. If successful, it will then be rolled out to other parts of the UK.
Stagecoach UK Bus Research and Development Manager, Elaine Rosscraig, said: "Moving house can be a very stressful - and expensive - time. We hope the free bus travel offer will help reduce that stress and make it easy for home movers to explore their new surroundings.
"Stagecoach bus services are an important part of local communities. We provide good value, reliable and greener bus travel for millions of people every day, helping them get to work, access education and health services or make leisure journeys.
"We want the campaign to make even more people aware of the benefits of bus travel and give them a stress-free, no-cost introduction to public transport.
"If we can get people into the habit of taking the bus when they first move into a new area, it will help reduce traffic congestion, cut pollution from cars and save home owners money."
A recent Stagecoach study showed that travelling by bus can be up to 80% cheaper than commuting by car, saving households up to £3000 a year*.
Stagecoach also offers online access to monthly and annual bus tickets, allowing customers to receive even further discounts and fix the cost of their travel for up to 12 months in advance. Passengers can log on to www.buymymegarider.com to purchase travel on their local Stagecoach bus network.
Stagecoach operates more than 7,000 buses from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to south-west England, covering more than 100 towns and cities in the UK and carrying around 2million passengers a day. The company has twice been named UK Bus Operator of the Year and won more awards than any other operator at the 2007 and 2008 UK Bus Awards.
The Home Movers campaign is the latest in a string of innovative Stagecoach marketing campaigns which have contributed to increased passenger numbers on Stagecoach bus services across the UK for the past six years.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
* Full details of the Stagecoach survey are available online at
http://www.stagecoachgroup.com/scg/media/press/pr2008/2008-08-29/
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs 30,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services.
For further information contact:
Lindsay Reid
Corporate Communications Manager
Stagecoach Group
10 Dunkeld Road
Perth
PH1 5TW
Phone: 01738 442111
Fax: 01738 443076
Mobile: 07500 446896
