Information & website l Call Centre l Ticketing l Branding l Network & facilities l Park & Ride l Customer Care
Integration is at the heart of Translink. This means more than buses and trains connecting; it also means clear branding, common information sources, through ticketing and well organised interchanges.
Integration is at the heart of Translink’s operations. Passengers want a public transport system that is integrated. This means more than buses and trains connecting; it also means clear branding, common information sources, through ticketing and well organised interchanges, including Park and Ride facilities. Translink is working towards delivering meaningful integration for passengers.
A commercial focus
In addition to integration, the public transport network must have a coherent and effective commercial strategy to maximise passenger numbers on the services.
Information and website
Translink’s provision of passenger information is amongst the most comprehensive in the UK and Ireland. A single call centre and the Translink website (www.translink.co.uk) provide information on all bus and rail services, including the latest travel news every 15 minutes. New projects to improve passenger information are underway including:
This work is being carried out as part of a special cutting-edge project that is integrating sophisticated road map data (supplied by Ordnance Survey Northern Ireland) with bus scheduling software packages. A personalised marketing campaign is to be piloted in 2007/08.
Building on the success of innovative online promotions run in 2006/07, the Translink website will continue to be the focus of extensive and aggressive e-commerce business development campaigns that drive passenger journey growth.
Call Centre
All Call Centre agents are committed to delivering excellent customer care. Success in this aim was indicated when a Call Centre Supervisor won the ‘Young Customer Care Service Professional of the Year’ award at the Customer Services Awards Ireland 2006. As Translink’s primary customer contact centre, Call Centre capacity and functionality will continue to be maximised efficiently.
During 2007/08 additional functions to be handled include:
Ticketing
Integrated ticketing options exist currently mainly in the form of passes:
Demand for single or one-off integrated tickets is currently low but a network wide stored value smart card is being evaluated. It would mean a major step forward in terms of comprehensive single journey through ticketing for all bus and rail services.
A high-level economic/strategic business case completed in 2006/07 for such a stored value ticketing system concluded that it would be financially viable. A formal detailed project proposal is to be finalised early in 2007/08.
Branding
New brand positions have been successfully developed for all business units and currently define all marketing and development activity. The new brand identities are aggressively and innovatively promoted and communicated.
The public transport network will be further developed and marketed as a single integrated entity, with operational network developments consistent with a single network vision. This will include the co-ordination of Goldline and NIRailways network development plans, linked to the key transport corridor approach of the RTS.
Network and facilities
Translink has invested in state of the art passenger facilities throughout Northern Ireland which are integrated bus/rail where possible. Current passenger facility redevelopments include Lisburn bus station and Newry railway station.
Park and ride
Significant investments have been made in both bus and rail based Park and Ride facilities at Lisburn, Moira, Lurgan, Carrickfergus, Portadown (all rail), Northside/ Eastside Belfast, Dungannon, (all bus), Bangor, Coleraine and Ballymena (all bus/rail).
Translink has worked with Roads Service to develop a range of measures to help ease congestion on the M1 and Westlink during the period of major road construction. An extended bus priority lane on the M1 motorway hard shoulder has been in use from July 2006.
New Park & Ride schemes at Black’s Road and Sprucefield have been provided with dedicated vehicles operating frequent shuttle services.
Translink is also working with Roads Service to deliver a strategic Park and Ride facility at Cairnshill. This is expected to be operational in 2008.
In addition, Translink has a portfolio of Park and Ride sites for potential development at both bus and rail stations and at strategic locations.
Customer care
A new approach that was pioneered in NI Railways and garnered several national awards, focusing on core customer care commitments, is to be extended to the bus operation in 2007/08. This is designed to deliver a positive travel experience for passengers and a professional, fulfilling and enjoyable workplace.
Transport regulatory structure - PTA During 2006, the Minister announced the intention to establish a public transport authority (PTA) for Northern Ireland. No objectives or implementation details are yet available. NITHC/Translink acknowledges this development and will work with DRD to develop the objectives and implementation programmes, including investigating the possibility of using existing NITHC/Translink functions to avoid potential duplication of resource or function.
The announcement is consistent with NITHC/Translink’s view that central to the delivery of quality public transport are principles of:
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