Uno Buses has embarked on a transformational journey. We look at what changes the operator has made this year with a visit to its Hatfield HQ
From a single minibus shuttle, to a fleet of 130 vehicles and 300 employees across the business, Uno Buses has come a long way from its small beginnings 25 years ago.
Now developed into a fully commercial bus service, the University of Hertfordshire-owned operator has made some big changes this year and shows it’s a company that clearly knows who it’s serving.
routeone meets Jim Thorpe, Managing Director of Uno Buses, the university bus for everyone.
How it developed
The shuttle service was created as a way to link up multiple dispersed campuses that were not particularly well served by the public transport available in Hertfordshire.
“Once it was up and running there was a lot of interest and a lot of usage,” Jim says.
And once the concept was generated and it was being used, the company – University Bus Limited – started thinking about converting it into a commercial bus service and running it as a standalone business.
“From that point with just three or four buses, it’s developed through to today with about 80 vehicles throughout Hertfordshire,” says Jim.
Passenger knowledge
Through the ‘90s and early 2000s, Jim says the business grew quite quickly. And although it was essentially developed as a network to serve the staff and students at the University of Hertfordshire, the wider business model was established quite quickly. The concept was popular and from 2012 onwards they expanded further with sites now serving Universities at Northampton, Cranfield and Oxford. Hatfield also runs some TfL routes.
“This isn’t just a commercial bus route for routes that bring university students to the universities. They are routes for the public,” says Jim. “And we make sure we position ourselves as such, with the strap line – ‘The university bus for everyone’.”
Uno has invested time in ensuring it knows why people are travelling, whether it’s for commuting, getting to the shops or going to university. The operator has made relevant investments in order to adequately serve its passengers, with the installation of USB charging ports and on-board wi-fi.
Rebrand and relaunch
In the beginning, Jim says there were some issues surrounding the university bus, with people thinking ‘these are just buses for students’. The problem was addressed and in 2005, Uno Buses was launched, with its striking, bold pink and purple livery and branding – a dramatic change up from its previous white with black writing.
“I have to say, I think it’s been a huge success. It’s a really strong brand and it’s something we carry through on all our routes,” says Jim.
About a year ago, a wide-ranging review of the company was carried out. “While we thought it was a good and very solid offering with a good customer service base, we felt there was an opportunity to take the business to another level, so we developed and embarked on a transformational plan to lift the business from where it was. It’s a great business with a good network and brand identity – we’re now working towards creating an outstanding one,” says Jim.
The review looked at all aspects of the business from social media, customer service standards, routes and vehicles.
Uno developed a plan to bring that transformational change into a reality, starting with the relaunch of its major route, the 614/644 – which is now known as The Comet route – between Hatfield and greater London.
“Comet is really important to the university as it carries lots of students,” Jim says. “We identified it as an ideal candidate to establish a template for the model we wanted to roll out across our routes.”
With the change came a £1.3m investment in six ADL Enviro400 City double-deckers, launched in September this year and with USB charge points at every seat, and free wi-fi.
Northampton update
The decision was also taken to upgrade the service Uno provides in Northampton. Now all of the fleet is less than 18 months old, and in October, it relaunched its 19 service as Violet.
Uno Buses, along with the University of Northampton, invested £1.5m in eight ADL Enviro400 double-deckers, and again, they feature USB ports and on-board wi-fi.
With this relaunch came Uno’s competition to name its mascot. The bumble bee, named Bruno, is featured on all eight buses.
Jim says: “Everyone loves the bee. It really stands out, and has been at the heart of our marketing and publicity. Two local ladies both came forward with the winning name. Bruno from Uno.”
Uno’s initiatives
Brand training was rolled out to everyone who was involved with delivering the routes and focus groups were introduced to monitor, review and progress updates of any live initiatives. This was to keep everyone on track to maintain a fresh approach to building patronage. One of this key initiatives for Comet was a 35,000-leaflet door drop which took place a month after the initial launch.
The rebrand of The Comet, Jim says, was a huge success with initial revenue figures being “really encouraging”, with Uno seeing 10-15% growth so far.
“It’s really exciting, we’ve had some really good feedback – so far so good,” says Jim. “We’ve looked at other candidates for rebranding, so more recently we refurbished Scania Omnidekka double-deckers which we’ve had since new, and rebranded the 601 route, The Alban Way.”
The major makeover of the vehicles, which launched at the end of November, has seen it fitted with new comfy seating, USB ports and wi-fi.
Staff knowledge
The operator has taken great care and consideration with its relaunches. It’s all been done with passengers at the forefront of the update, and with that comes customer service.
All drivers on The Comet have a tailor-made uniform for the route, and are trained to specifically cater to passengers on that service.
“All of the rebranded routes have been backed up by monthly internal focus meetings; different people from across the business sit on those groups,” says Jim.
“We review everything, from operational performance to customer feedback. It helps keep the momentum going. We are all keen to see the new investments succeed, the team is really motivated and it’s great to see. We take on feedback from lead drivers too, taking on board new ideas about how we can further improve the customer experience. The meetings focus us all.”
Near future
Uno is expecting a delivery of new vehicles in April 2018. “We’ve got six new single-deck buses for our 610 service which operates from Luton to Hatfield,” Jim says. “They will be high-spec and are being built at the moment. Following on from that are other things to consider, like electric buses.”
With a hope to move away from cash, there are plans that Uno could welcome contactless in 2018. It’s currently unavailable across the fleets, but m-ticketing is in place, and is becoming increasingly popular.
What makes Uno tick?
“It’s important that you always put the customers first,” says Jim. “That’s really got to be at the forefront of your mind.”
Ultimately, Jim says that the company is lucky to have a supportive owner in the University of Hertfordshire, and that it wants to keep driving the customer focus and to be viewed as an “outstanding business.”
