This report is concerned with the effects of small-scale advertising of a purely informative type, suitable for local application to public transport operations. It shows that expenditure on the provision of travel information can be justified by resultant increases in revenue. A successful experiment in promotion has already been carried out on a network of rural services and has been reported in TRRL reports LR 825 and SR 371. The present report describes a further experiment carried out by TRRL in the urban environment of Bingley, West Yorkshire. Travel information was disseminated by distribution of free leaflets and by displays in bus-stop panels. The report shows that the issue of the travel information in the test area had significant effects on train and bus usage and reduced or reversed the rate of decline of patronage. It also shows how the expenditure of £1200 on printing and distributing the material returned many times that amount in revenue estimated over the following five months. The report includes an analysis of the effect of the use of display panels at bus stops to advertise 'happy day' tickets (individual and family day-rover tickets for use on train and bus). sales of 'happy day' tickets rose very significantly: the additional sales were estimated to be worth about £115. (Author/publisher
Abstract