Yellow Buses has seen an increase in passengers after posting details of Pokemon Go ‘Pokestops’ on its website.
It means that those hooked on the new gaming sensation can find the stops with the company’s website – then hop on a bus to get there.
The operator works across Bournemouth, Poole and east Dorset and with wi-fi on its fleet it has almost become part of the game itself.
Pokemon uses a smartphone’s GPS location and real-world maps to bring computer games out of the house and into the open.
Players can visit Pokestops – typically landmarks or buildings – and collect free items in the game.
The main aim is to catch Pokemon, which pop up along the way. The game provides an augmented reality experience, using the smartphone’s camera to provide a live view of the world, with Pokemon superimposed.
Jenni Wilkinson, Yellows’ Head of Marketing and Customer Excellence, said: “As Pokemon has become such a sensation we thought we’d get involved.
“We’ve posted details of the Pokestops on our journey planner and interactive maps so gamers can find out where they are.
“They can also use our buses to get there and with wi-fi on our fleet and with our website and app available on all mobile devices it is really easy.
“Passenger numbers have gone up and people like using the buses because it’s safer than trying to find Pokestops while driving a car.
“We’ve got the wi-fi, we’ve got the wheels and we’ve got the ‘where to find them’ – it’s a great way to get out exploring.
“We’re the only bus company in the area doing this and it has become extremely popular.”
Pic caption: The Pokemon stops
Note to Editors:
For more information, please contact: Andrew Diprose, Director, Deep South Media Ltd, PR consultants to Yellow Buses, on 01202 534487. Or Ed Baker on 01202 534487 or 07788392965.
About Yellow Buses:
Yellow Buses operates a fleet of 137 buses and 18 coaches with a staff of 450. It carries more than 15m passengers a year with its vehicles operating nearly five million miles across the Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and East Dorset area. The Yellows are part of RATP Group, the world’s fifth largest public transport provider. www.bybus.co.uk
RATP group:
With 14 million passengers every day worldwide, RATP group is the fifth largest urban transport operator in the world. The multimodal network operated by RATP in the Paris region, with its 14 metro lines (including two driverless lines), two regional express network (RER) lines, seven tramway lines, 350 bus lines and shuttle services catering to the region’s two international airports, is the largest of its kind in the world to be managed by a single company.
RATP group can devise, design and implement infrastructure development projects, operate and maintain networks irrespective of the transport mode (metro, regional train, tramway and bus) and develop innovative services to promote mobility such as passenger information, electronic ticketing, pricing and customer marketing. The automation of Paris metro’s Line 1, which was completed at the end of 2012, is a world first and once again has demonstrated the ability of RATP group to complete particularly complex projects.
RATP group has a workforce of nearly 60,000 worldwide and in 2015 generated revenue of 5,556 million euros.
RATP Dev:
RATP Dev is RATP a group subsidiary set up in 2002 to export the Group’s operation and maintenance knowhow outside the historic network operated by RATP in the Paris region. RATP Dev now operates in 15 countries on four continents (United Kingdom, France, Italy, Switzerland, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, China, South Korea, the Philippines, the USA and Brazil). In 2015 RATP Dev generated revenue of 1,144 million euros.