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How do you grow bus patronage when the car is still the default choice?

By reaching people at the moments they decide how to travel, using local data rather than habit. We have planned and bought media for First Bus, local authorities and combined authorities for eight years, running passenger growth, concessionary and driver recruitment campaigns across radio, out of home, paid social and paid search.

Who this is for

Marketing and communications teams at bus operators, route brands and combined transport authorities. If your targets are patronage, journey volume, app downloads or driver recruitment, and your budgets answer to public funders, this is work we know well.

Why Route

Because passenger transport is hyper-local and seasonal. We target at corridor and postcode level, plan around the way people actually choose to travel, and report so that every route, campaign and pound can be examined by your team and your stakeholders.

Our experience in public transport

Public transport is one of our longest-running sector specialisms. We have delivered passenger growth, concessionary and driver recruitment work for First Bus across the West of England, Bristol and West Yorkshire, and for LeedsCity Bus, a First Group route brand.

For LeedsCity Bus, a multi-channel and in-app campaign drove app downloads with a lifetime value the client put at nearly £500,000, and it won Global Local Campaign of the Year at the Global Biddable Media Awards 2020. For First Bus in Bristol, the "Let’s Get There Together" recovery campaign ran across radio, TV, paid social, display, search and direct mail, and landing-page traffic almost tripled once broadcast awareness had built. Our First Bus driver recruitment work went on to win Best Integrated Paid Media Campaign at the UK Paid Media Awards 2024.

Combined authorities feature too. The First Bus 36 Service campaign with the West of England Combined Authority reached 283,000 audience profiles along the route, with students, adults using local services and hospital visitors as its three core audiences.

Related work

Common questions

Can you target passengers along a single route or corridor?

Yes. Corridor, postcode and radius targeting in paid social and paid search, combined with route-level out of home and radio, lets us concentrate delivery on the catchment that actually uses a service rather than a whole region.

Do you handle driver recruitment as well as passenger growth?

We do both. Recruitment campaigns use a different audience and channel mix from passenger growth work. Our First Bus driver recruitment work won Best Integrated Paid Media Campaign at the UK Paid Media Awards 2024.

Can you work within public funding and reporting requirements?

We plan around funder expectations and report transparently. Campaigns run in your accounts, and our reporting is built so operators, authorities and their stakeholders can examine reach, journeys and spend.

Which channels work best for bus marketing?

It depends on the objective and the corridor. Passenger growth work often blends radio, out of home, paid social and paid search, while concessionary campaigns lean on local press and broadcast to reach older audiences. We choose the mix on evidence, not habit.

Planning your next patronage or recruitment campaign?

Call +44 (0) 191 933 7588, email info.route@route.agency, or send us your brief for the quickest response.

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