Red Bus

 

A Bride on Our Bus

 

 

Anna Chisnell’s wedding transport might turn a few heads this Saturday – it’s the number 5 bus!

Red Bus staff were tickled pink to receive an email from Anna telling them of her intention to use the public service.

“She was worried that our driver would get a shock when a bride, bridesmaid, 2 flowers girls, the father of the bride and a few more guests were all were waiting at the bus stop, so she emailed us” says Nicky Halligan from Red Bus.  “We are delighted to play a part in her special day and are really excited about doing this for one of our regular customers.”

Red Bus does undertake wedding charters but this is the first time that any staff can remember that a public bus has been used as an alterative to the brides wedding car.

Anna says she chose to use the public bus as part of her wedding as it’s her main form of transport on a daily basis and she enjoys using it.  Using public transport is also important to Anna as she views it as an environmental benefit to have fewer cars on the road.

“Using the bus is a nice part of my day, I get to relax while travelling to where I need to go – so why not make it part of my wedding?  Also the bus route runs straight past the wedding venue so it just made sense.”

Anna is training to be an early childhood teacher and also does some relief teaching work at child care centres around the city.  She uses the bus to get all over the city.

    

Commuter calculator helps compare car vs. bus costs

Christchurch commuters are being encouraged to discover the real cost of driving their car to work by Red Bus.  The cities bus company has taken the initiative to show the Christchurch public the possible savings of using public transport by putting a calculator on their website www.redbus.co.nz.  A giant version of the calculator can currently been seen on the back of one of the Red Buses.

Commuters can simply enter details as to the size of their car engine, daily parking costs and the distance travelled on a trip.  The calculator then factors in driving costs such as fuel (current pump price) tyres, service and repairs.  It doesn’t include other costs such as deprecation, registration and insurance.

For example a Sumner commuter with a small car can save over $5000.00 per annum based on travelling the 30 plus kilometre return trip to the centre city using the bus – that’s not even including parking.

Christchurch lawyer and Sumner resident Richard Lang has been using the bus to get to work in the CBD on and off for the last few years, and has noticed the increase in patronage, as well as the benefit to his back pocket.  “I have to admit I was surprised as to exactly how much I am saving” says Mr Lang. “It all adds up and that’s additional money for a family holiday or work around the house.”

Red Bus marketing Coordinator Nicky Halligan says that these potential savings have also been reflected in the growth of people using buses to get to and from work.  “We’ve seen significant percentage increases in bus patronage over June and July, with an additional 11.1% more people using the bus in July compared to last year. “

“If you have an average sized car, you travel 10 km to work and pay $4 for parking, it probably costs you $62 a week to get to and from work.  On Red Bus it will cost you no more than $21 a week if you use a Metrocard.”

.ENDS.

For further information or a photo opportunity – please contact Nicky Halligan on 03 3713116

 

 

Red Bus driver wins Inaugural Tranzqual Australasian Bus Roadeo

As well as hosting the inaugural Australasian Bus Roadeo, (Christchurch’s bus company) Red Bus Ltd had the best of results with one of the company’s drivers, Mike North winning the event.

Held on Wigram Air Base in Christchurch over the weekend of 29-30 September, the unusual sight of big red buses being put through their paces in tight turns around road cones on the open tarmac attracted wide publicity on television and in print.

Mike North’s victory as the country’s best bus driver was not based just on his outstanding driving ability. There were three other components to the competition covering the ability to detect defects in a pre-driving inspection, and knowledge of road rules and customer service.

Bus Roadeos are very popular in the United States and Australia held its first Bus Roadeo back in 1991. Last year a driver from Red Bus became the first New Zealander to compete against the best of Australia.

They had such a great experience that Red Bus decided to host a Roadeo here with the support of the Bus and Coach Association and major sponsorship from Transqual ITO.

The twenty competitors came from urban and tour companies in New Zealand and Australia. Second place went to Roy Ida from Westbus Sydney, and Ranui Hui from Ritchies Coachlines Auckland was third.

Planning is already underway for the 2008 event which is being held in Hamilton.
 

Red Bus daffodils

Red Bus will sport a dash of daffodil yellow come the end of the month.

Commuters using Red Bus Shuttles on Daffodil Day, August 31, will encounter volunteers offering fabric daffodils in exchange for a donation with the hope of raising awareness of and collecting more for the Cancer Society’s free services towards cancer research.

Jane Sherriff, Manager Income Development for the Cancer Society, is looking forward to the bus collection adding towards the overall collection.

“It will assist greatly towards allowing us to provide more services,” she says.

Ms Sherriff says the bus people approached the Society with the idea of making collections on the bus routes.

Red Bus CEO Paul McNoe says the company wanted to support the Cancer Society’s excellent work.

“We want to do our bit towards the environment and I believe Daffodil Day would benefit from our involvement,” says Mr McNoe, adding that Red Bus was committed to reducing its impact on the environment.

“We think that a well-used efficient bus system will improve Christchurch's air quality,” he says.

Collectors will be on the Yellow Central City Shuttle buses from around 10 am - 3 pm. Support for the Cancer Society and the work they do can be shown by buying daffodils/donating to street collectors, purchasing Society merchandise, or making a donation by text/phone/Internet.

The Society is still looking for volunteers to help out on Daffodil Day.

Christmas bus to raise money for SADD

A specially decorated Christmas bus driven by Santa will be travelling the streets of Christchurch next week (18 - 22 December) to raise money for Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD).

Instead of paying for a bus fare passengers will have the opportunity to donate to SADD high school students who will be aboard the Red Bus.

“SADD wants to raise awareness of the risks involved in mixing alcohol and driving,” said SADD’s regional co-ordinator Jessica Stringer.

“There is no excuse for drinking and driving. We want young people to look out for their mates so they don’t end up in court or injuring or killing someone.

“Taking a bus home is the safest way of getting there,” said Jessica Stringer.

The Christmas Bus will travel on a variety of Red Bus routes around Christchurch from 10am – 2pm from Monday to Friday.

“At Red Bus we want to spread some Christmas cheer and also support and promote the idea of not drinking and driving by taking a bus,” said Nicky Halligan from Red Bus.

”We encourage people to use a Midnight Express buses to get themselves home.”

A Midnight Express buses depart from the city on the hour from 1am to 5am to Ilam, Hornby, Sumner, New Brighton East and Papanui Road/ Redwood.

Captions:

The decorated Red Bus is a feature of Christmas in Christchurch.

For more information:   Nicky Halligan, Red Bus, telephone 379 4260

Midnight Express services, telephone 0800 RED BUS or 0800 733 287