Bus passengers to benefit from new website
Thousands of Stagecoach South West bus passengers are set to benefit from easier journeys as the company launches a transformational new responsive website that will let customers check live running times for their services and buy travel straight from their Smartphone.
As part of a new online platform, Britain’s biggest bus operator has launched the UK’s first nationwide online bus planning service to help its 2million daily customers access journey and ticketing information more easily for Stagecoach services across the country.
The new website is designed to make it as simple as possible for passengers to plan and book their Stagecoach bus travel. The site is also accessible from mobile devices, allowing customers to call up journey information and buy tickets while on the move.
The website is part of a three-year, £11million digital investment strategy which includes investment by Stagecoach in redeveloping its UK Bus online platform, delivering real-time information and improving payment options.
In 2016, the transport group will also introduce a mobile app for customers as part of its strategy.
Developed by design agency Rufus Leonard, the new Stagecoach UK Bus website has the technology to allow customers to track and plan their bus journeys across the South West using real time information.
Located at the web address stagecoachbus.com, the site is fully mobile and has already undergone rigorous testing by customers.
The stagecoachbus.com site is fully accessible and meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), complying with WCAG (A) as a minimum and WCAG (AA) wherever possible. It's possible to change text size and colour, as well as background colours, by altering the preferences or options in the users browser ensuring accessibility for users with poor sight and those who are colour blind.
Key features of the new website include:
- A clearer, more user-friendly journey planner allowing customers to plan journeys across Stagecoach South West
- An online fare calculator
- Mobile friendly so customers can view the site on smart phones and tablets
- Simple online booking system
- Tool to allow customers to search and find their nearest bus stop, placing options on an interactive map
- Tool to download personalised timetables
Stagecoach South West Managing Director, Bob Dennison said: “The new website is great news for our customers. I am confident that passengers will find the website easier to use, enabling them to plan journeys and buy tickets much more easily than before.”
Stagecoach UK Bus Managing Director Robert Montgomery said: “Our customers want seamless journeys –from planning their trip and buying tickets, to getting real-time travel information and catching the bus. That’s what we are aiming to deliver and we believe this new website will help make life easier for all of our passengers, no matter how often or how little they use the bus.
“We’ll also continue to embrace further developments in technology to ensure we can deliver even better bus services for our customers in the future.”
Customers who want to offer their feedback can complete a feedback form on the site available on the homepage.
As well as investing in a new online platform, Stagecoach offers smart ticketing at all of its businesses across the UK and is working with other operators, and local transport authorities, on the delivery of multi-operator smart ticketing in all of England’s city regions by the end of this year.
Stagecoach has three times been independently found to offer the best value bus fares in Britain.
