Press releases

Arriva is taking the battle for bus passengers into the heartland of its biggest competitor – the private car – by launching an advertising campaign in car parks.

As bus company Arriva kicks off its 2005 ‘Going your way' marketing drive, which seeks to encourage people to review the journeys they make and consider whether any can be better made by bus, a new element this year will be advertising on ticket machines and barriers at car park entrances.

Marketing manager, David Shadbolt, explained,

A key time to get our message across to motorists is as they queue their way into a car park. We want to remind them that they could have avoided the hassle of finding a parking space and the cost of parking by making their trip into town on the bus instead.

This new initiative will be trialled in car parks in the centres of Paisley, Derby , Leicester and Watford – all places where Arriva runs significant networks of frequent local bus services. If trials are successful, Arriva will consider rolling out the initiative to other areas of the UK .

We're absolutely not anti-car

emphasised David,

but so many car journeys into urban centres like these could be made more easily by bus – with all the benefits that would have for congestion and pollution levels – that we wanted to bring Arriva buses to the attention of motorists when they're at their most receptive.

In addition to the car park scheme, the 'Going your way' campaign will also see information about local bus services delivered to 2.3 million households on key Arriva bus routes across the UK in April. This will be supported by a radio campaign and posters on the back of buses and further activity will follow later in the year.

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