02 Dec 2004
A loaf of bread, a pint of milk and an Arriva bus ticket please!
Customers using Arriva buses across the UK will be able to pickup a weekly or 4-weekly bus ticket with their loaf of bread andpint of milk – thanks to a national partnership betweenArriva and PayPoint.
The partnership will see Arriva bus tickets* available atPayPoint outlets across the UK in areas where Arriva operatesservices – meaning that more and more customers can take advantageof this convenient way of buying tickets.
Market research and customer feedback indicated to Arriva thatcustomers wanted the company to introduce easier ways to buy bustickets. In response to this, Arriva has now made weekly and4-weekly tickets available from PayPoint outlets. There is no needto fill out forms or provide photographs – all people have to do isask for the ticket they want and then hop on whatever Arrivaservice suits them best.
With no need to find change at the bus stop, boarding times willbe faster and customers can still buy their day, weekly and4-weekly tickets direct from their bus driver if they want to.
Catherine Mason, customer services and marketing director forArriva's UK Bus division said:
We believe this represents a significant improvement tothe service we offer customers, especially as so many of the shopsand other outlets with a PayPoint service are within just a shortwalk of an Arriva bus service.
Many of our customers will already be familiar with theconvenience of topping up their mobile phones or paying their BT,gas or electricity bills at PayPoint outlets. Now they can buytheir bus tickets at the same time.
There are currently more than 11,000 PayPoint outlets across theUK and Northern Ireland, processing around four milliontransactions a week. PayPoint is not only fast and efficient butalso gives customers a wider choice of how, when and where to maketheir payments.
PayPoint's chief executive Dominic Taylor said:
I'm very pleased that PayPoint and Arriva are workingtogether to make it easier and more convenient for customers topurchase bus tickets, whilst bringing benefits to our PayPointretailers at the same time. We expect this new service to beextremely popular with customers, as many of them are regular buspassengers and most PayPoint outlets are located in residentialareas.
Ends
Notes to editors
- *Arriva tickets are already available at PayPoint outlets inMid Cheshire, Paisley, Scotland; the Medway Towns; Kent Thameside;Maidstone; Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells and, from 6 December,Durham. Arriva bus tickets are not available from PayPoint outletsin London.