North East Buses Cars and Bikes ticket wins award

Go North East is celebrating after picking up the 2012 Bus Operator Innovation Award at last night’s national Route One Operator Excellence Awards in Birmingham for its ground-breaking Key Lifestyle scheme.

Go North East introduced Key Lifestyle to provide customers with more travel options not for bus services, but to suit their lifestyle choices. Key Lifestyle is a fully flexible transport package comprising bus, car and bike travel discounts in one smart card, designed to make it easier for people to travel around the North East, while encouraging real modal shift.

In making their award to Go North East the judges said “they were attracted to this initiative that builds on growing concerns about the cost of car ownership, while providing an integrated solution that also saves passengers money through a fully-flexible transport package comprising bus, car and travel discounts.”
 

With initiatives such as ‘The Key’ smartcard ticketing service and the ‘Key Mobile’, a smartphone ticketing and information app, Go North East says it is using digital technology to improve its service for customers, innovating the way customers can access information and buy tickets on its services. On picking up the award, Go North East’s managing director Kevin Carr said  “ I am delighted that Go  North East has been recognised for our innovation. Key Lifestyle brings together a wider choice of transport options and adds to the real savings on bus travel we are working hard to deliver”.
 

Pictured picking up the award from the BBC’s former “Tomorrow’s World” presenter Maggie Philben is Go North East’s managing director Kevin Car and marketing & sales manager Stephen King.