Buses for You” is a bus awareness campaign delivered across West Northamptonshire as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP). The campaign is led by West Northamptonshire Council, coordinated by GO Travel Solutions, and funded by the UK Government.
Running from July 2025, the campaign aims to raise awareness of local bus services and increase passenger numbers by encouraging both residents and visitors to explore West Northants by bus.
The campaign has been designed to align closely with the local calendar and major events, ensuring relevance throughout the year:
- Summer 2025: Launched as “Give it a Try”, coinciding with major events in Northampton, including the Women’s Rugby World Cup
- September–December 2025: Evolved into “Buses for Everyone”, aligning with autumn and festive activities
- January 2026 onwards: Transitioned into “Buses for You”, which remains the overarching brand for future activity
Project objectives
Raise awareness of local bus services and increase passenger numbers by encouraging both residents and visitors to explore West Northamptonshire by bus.
Key activity delivered
- Outdoor media and roadside advertising
- Bus rear advertising
- Local radio campaigns
- Event-based promotion
- Social media advertising including ‘Myth-busting’ Meta and LinkedIn campaigns
- Maildrop
- Two “Days out by Bus” guides
- Campaign partnerships (22 partners), including:
- Theatres – The Old Savoy and Royal & Derngate supported bus travel promotion through on-bus photography featuring panto casts
- Sports venues – Northampton Town FC (Cobblers) and Northampton Saints supported group ticket travel by appearing in on-bus photography with mascots and players and promoting the group ticket to fans
- Cafés – participation by independent cafes within West Northants in ‘Toasty Travels’ week event, offering free drinks to competition winners.
- Attractions and organisations – 16 partners donated prizes for campaign competitions including Silverstone Circuit, Lamport Hall, Delapre Abbey, Towcester Mill Brewery and more.
- Theatres – The Old Savoy and Royal & Derngate supported bus travel promotion through on-bus photography featuring panto casts
Solutions
Solutions delivered
Impact & outcomes
- An 806% increase in group ticket sales in August 2025, compared to August 2024*
- 2.2% increase in customer trips in September 2025, compared to September 2024
- 130,000+ passengers via group ticket sales from July 2025 to March 2026
- Available daily from 23 July – 7 September 2025
- Available weekends and school holidays from September 2025 onwards
- ‘Myth-busting’ Meta and LinkedIn campaign (1-31 March 2026) resulted in:
- 574,000 people reached across Meta platforms
- 14,000+ link clicks via Meta
- Best performing advert CTR: 3.8%
- 480 individuals requested further information, with the top 5 questions:
How do I track my bus?
What is the fare for this route?
What are the bus routes available?
Can I book a ticket online?
What are the bus schedules?
For more information on the ‘Myth-busting’ campaign, please click here.
"These are superb campaigns to raise awareness of how the bus can be part of a great day out in West Northamptonshire, growing the number of people using the bus as part of sustainable travel options. There are so many fantastic attractions to visit and the bus plays a key part in linking people to places, which combined with accessing both education and employment, helps boost the local economy.” Patrick Stringer, Commercial Director, Stagecoach Midlands
“As a theatre with strong sustainability aims, Royal & Derngate is committed to encouraging greener choices wherever possible. Ensuring our audiences can reach us by bus or other forms of sustainable travel is an important part of that commitment, so we were delighted to be involved in the ‘Buses for You’ campaign. Initiatives like this help make visiting the theatre easier, more accessible, and better for the environment, supporting a more sustainable future for our audiences, our community, and the arts.” Rob Parkes, Commercial and Operations Director, Royal & Derngate
* Based on a comparison with the 2024 Stagecoach Group ticket products, the additional tickets introduced in 2025 were the Northampton and West Northamptonshire wide tickets.
Next steps?
