Yes, On Line Leaflet!
Ir is rare for fbb to receive a Royal Mailed letter; a genuine hand typed letter not a letter trying to sell something or a threatening letter from somebody trying to con the old bloke. He was almost too excited to open the hand written envelope. The above is what he found therein complete with the leaflet referred to.
When the big companies like First and Stagecoach (but not GoAhead) have, like a short-sighted mole in a paper bag ...
... stopped providing printed timetable information, it comes as both a shock and a joy to see that some managers have, at last, seen sense.
Apologies for the poor quality of some of the screen shots - Blogger is being "silly" again"
So here is he X17 leaflet.
Note that it is still branded Stagecoach Gold ...
... which was, we were told, to be abandoned in favour of all-over motorway maintenance yellow. Three cheers for common sense. Also note that the leaflets were printed just before the £2 fare deal was extended to October 2023.
Inside the leaflet there is a very simple summary of the new frequencies ...
followed by thumbnail sketches of the various places you could visit. The leaflet designers could't find much of a picture for Wirksworth ...
... but the massive mill at Cromford features - it is now a shop but some of the mill machinery can still ber visited.
There is more to Matlock Bath than the cable cars ...
... and Chesterfield offers the iconic twisted spire and the gorgeous indoor and outdoor markets.
Sheffield is rather weakly promoted as a "green" city but with no pictures of its extensive parklands. The wonderful Graves Park is on the X17 route. The Town Hall always looks nice!
There were also lists of stops; which would have been better as more detail on the maps with enlargements where necessary,
Unhelpful as a list.
And Two Come Along Together
Meadowhell is joined by nearby IKEA ...
... and Barnsley should have a picture of its market!
But where, oh where, is the picture of that market day essential, the pie and pea dinner?
Sadly, the above picture does not adequately capture the dayglo colour of the mushy slushy peas which should, of course, be sloppy like a sauce and the whole lot ought to be served in a bowl and eaten with a spoon!
And fbb nearly forgot the maps, one from Barnsley to Sheffield ...
... and one from Sheffield to Wirksworth.
But for all fbb's minor disappointments, the leaflet would surely attract folk to go for a ride.
WELL DONE STAGECOACH!!
As fbb was composing the above, an email arrived from yet another Peter.
Another promotional leaflet, this time from First Bus ...
... yes you read correctly, printed material from First Bus! Wowsers!
It is part of a clutch of service changes from 23td June.
The leaflet is bright and attractive ...
... has simple diagramatic maps ...
... and fully detailed stop maps for the whole route.
You are even shown where it stops at the Airport ...
... not that there's any choice!
As Essex Peter says, the X20 is a rejig of the 370 .,.
... but with trendy graphics!
But, thanks to Peter's email, we have yet another example of excellent printed publicity.
(Oh dear; this next bit sticks in the throat)
WELL DONE FIRST BUS
Gosh that hurt!!
Gosh that hurt!!
And a very special thanks to both Peters for sending the information.
Something Completely Different blog : Wednesday 26th July
While I'm all in favour of leaflets, I do have some questions. For instance, how are they distributed? Having them on buses isn't much good (unless you're publicising fresh 'travel opportunities') as you're dealing with your existing. Tourist Information Centres are good, although they mustn't get "buried" amidst a welter of other leaflets; ditto libraries. Getting them into hotels or peoples' homes either involves a lot of leg work or high costs. And of course bus station enquiry offices are almost a thing of the past - although there ought to be racks at railway stations. Of course there also needs to be an awareness that leaflets go out of date: not much point display ones for a service that finished in 2020!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, our local bus services changed as from Sunday. Cardiff Council posted new timetables for one on stops by yesterday; they haven't for the other, possibly because it's only a temporary change until the schools go back. The online timetables for both operators are up-to-date though (and were in fact correct for date a couple of weeks ago).
Not a timetable leaflet to be had in Chesterfield in May of this year. Of course Stagecoach have helpfully closed their enquiry office/waiting room/leaflet point. The tourist info office always had a section, well stocked, on display. Nothing their either. I did manage a Hulleys leaflet on one of their buses last Summer, but nothing to be seen on a Stagecoach bus.
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