Background & ObjectivesOn Sundays, the Ginko network does not provide a bus service to the forest. Therefore, people living in Greater Besançon need to take their car when they want to visit the forest.
The goal of setting up this service is to give the inhabitants of Besançon the opportunity to relax and do physical activity in the outskirts Chailluz forest on summer Sundays. This helps protect the environment and the general health of the public by reducing the number of cars on the road and encourages inhabitants to be more physically active.
ImplementationKeolis Besançon set up a bus service available on request to the Chailluz forest on Sundays with the possibility of transporting a bicycle. The reservations can be done by telephone or internet.The service runs though a special route in Besançon, serving 11 stops on the city´s major roads ensuring an exact match with the Ginko Sunday services.
There are 2 departure and return journeys every Sunday. Services available on board the bus include loan of games to play in the forest. The atmosphere on board of the bus is enhanced with background music.
The campaign to promote and advertise the service included posters in buses, bus shelters and the Ginko Boutique. The distribution of promotional leaflets was done in buses, public places and at other brochure distribution points. The new service was highlighted on the ginko bus website and all the new 11 bus stops where the service was available. The bus used for the service had a special image and decoration.
The demand for this service depends on weather conditions. During the pilot the weather was poor. It relies as well on the awareness of people of the advantages of this service and thus lots of advertising.
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ConclusionsDuring the trial period, most passengers were women (70%) and 52% went with their families, and about 1/3 had bicycles. The great majority were very satisfied with the service (19,6 out of 20) and it was considered a good opportunity to improve the image of the network operator.
The program has continued every summer since 2006. In 2009 new services were available.
Case-study input by LifeCycle.cc AuthorFlorence Alheily
Contact Florence Alheily
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