Nottingham City Transport Go2 services have now been operating across the city for five years and today, carry passengers on over 25 million journeys each year. It is five years since NCT re-launched its entire network and introduced the new colour coded Go2 bus services to Nottingham residents.
The first Go2, service 27 to Carlton was introduced as part of the new NCT network on 1st October 2001, other routes quickly followed. Today 14 fast and direct routes operate in and out the city, providing a 10 minutes or better daytime frequency, with regular evening & Sunday services, plus midnight departures. This network is used extensively by commuters who in many cases have a car (41% users) but choose to use the bus for convenience and cost reasons.
The modern new fleet of buses (no bus is over 6 years old), over 100 in total, are all colour coded for easy recognition along the corridor which they serve. Branded in the distinctive Go2 livery, which this year has seen a facelift to make the network even more recognisable, this service has proved to be extremely popular with bus users. Since 2003 when the network became fully operational, Go2 passenger numbers have increased by over 10% and continue to grow year on year.
This year the Go2 service 28 to Bilborough and Strelley had 9 new buses, providing a more spacious interior with 2+ 1 seating on the lower decks, a response to passenger research which NCT undertake each year. Other features of the Go2 network – CCTV and low floors are also standard following customer comments and requests.
To celebrate Go2’s fifth birthday and to encourage more people to try this network, NCT have an extensive PR and promotional programme planned the autumn. Using characters such as Lenny, Bella and the Gremlins, Go2 will be promoted via 48 sheet posters, radio campaigns, at the NCT Travel Centre and website. These characters all use the bus to make their journey for many different reasons, work, play and leisure and challenge Nottingham residents to Go2.
A recent city-wide, Go2 mail drop campaign to 215,000 households offered a free trial single journey on the NCT network, this was very well received with many people taking up this offer and trying the network.
Mark Fowles MD for NCT stated “We are delighted with the success of our Go2 brand, the residents of Nottingham quickly saw the benefits of these fast, frequent and direct routes and used them extensively. We intend to build upon the strength of this network, adding new routes, developing existing services and continually improving the entire network. With unlimited daily travel from less than £1 a day, NCT Go2 routes are really the best way to travel across the city for most journeys”
2006, is a significant year for NCT for several other reasons too, this year is the 100th anniversary of the introduction of a motorbus service by NCT’s predecessor – Nottingham Corporation Tramways. The service in question commenced on 26th March 1906 between Smithy Row and ‘The Crown Hotel’ on Carlton Road (now demolished but it was sited at the junction of Carlton Road and Sneinton Road).
Unfortunately operation was not sustained and the service ceased on 15th June 1908 due to the mechanical unreliability of the buses used. Motorbus services restarted on 17th May 1920 when a service was introduced between Bentinck Road and Bagthorpe (the name by which the locality in which the City Hospital is situated) and have continued ever since.
Later this month, 26th October 2006 is the 20th anniversary of NCT trading as a limited company rather than a City Council department. The company continues to move from strength to strength as public transport in the city becomes more and more significant, with interests in NET as well as a thriving bus network.
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