ASA Adjudication on South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive t/a
Travel South Yorkshire
,
Date:
1 February 2012
Media:
Leaflet, Poster
Sector:
Holidays and travel
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A11-172258
Ad
Two leaflets and one poster for the South Yorkshire Passenger Travel Executive t/a Travel South Yorkshire's Optio Orange and Stagecoach services:
a. A leaflet for the Optio network advertising new bus services.
b. A leaflet for the Stagecoach service advertising service changes and improvements.
c. A poster for the Optio network advertising new bus services.
Issue
The complainant challenged whether:
1. the claim in ad (a) "The new bus travel option, giving you flexibility and choice" was misleading and could be substantiated; and
2. the claim in ads (b) and (c) "Your bus services are changing for the better" and the claim in ad (c) "your bus services have changed for the better" were misleading and could be substantiated.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
1. Travel South Yorkshire said that the claim could be justified by a range of improvements to service:
The combined frequency of buses on service 120 (up to every four minutes on the central section between Hallamshire Hospital and Crystal Peaks) was greater than either operator (First 40/41 and Stagecoach 120) had provided previously.
A co-ordinated 15-minute frequency to and from Sheffield City Centre on services 49/50/50A, together with improved links to Crystal Peaks, Morrisons (Halfway) and Supertram was benefitting customers in the Mosborough village and Mosborough Moor area.
The evening and Sunday service was better on service 120 than previously on First 40/41, which operated every 20 minutes and then 30 minutes after 22:00. Stagecoach's 120 service operated every 20 minutes until 22:00 hours only. The new 120 service launched on 24 July operated every ten minutes on Sundays in the daytime and early evenings and then every 15 minutes from 18:15 to end of service which they described as a considerable improvement.
Those customers wanting to travel only on the Optio Orange services could now do so by buying their Optio branded tickets on the first bus which arrived and then use any operator's bus when making subsequent journeys on the Optio Orange network. This therefore removed the need to wait for an operator-specific bus.
Passengers were offered the option to buy a 'Switcha' ticket where they either had to, or chose to, change buses, allowing them to make a through journey on one ticket.
A co-ordinated network guide was produced that featured one map for the whole of the Optio Orange network, frequency information for all services and some ticketing information. This had never been produced before and allowed customers to see the full choice of options at once.
Travel South Yorkshire also said that the claim was only used in their launch campaign in July 2011 and it was no longer being distributed as part of their communications and did not feature in any revised ads.
2. Travel South Yorkshire said the claims were justified by a range of improvements to service:
As inter-availability of bus-only tickets had not existed before, the option for customers to catch the first bus that came along did not previously exist for many customers. Customers could now travel on any Optio Orange service, regardless of which operator's service they had first caught and could purchase an Optio Orange Day or Week ticket on the bus. This ticket could then be used for travel within the Optio Orange network. This compared to single operator products which previously existed or the Sheffield Citywide multi-operator product which was a premium priced ticket of £4.90 per day.
Frequencies on the 120 service were co-ordinated whereas previously services 40, 41 and 120 were not.
Evening and Sunday services on some routes were improved. After July, the evening Optio service 120 operated every 10 minutes until around 21:00 then every 15 minutes to end of service covering the entire route from Halfway tram terminus to Fulwood. This was a considerable improvement on the service prior to July, when the Stagecoach service 120 operated every 20 minutes until around 22:00 then finished, and the First service 40 operated every 20 minutes to around 21:30, then every 30 minutes to end of service. Between the City Centre and Fulwood. The First service 41 operated every 20 minutes until around 21:30 and then every 30 minutes to end of service between City Centre and Halfway Streetfields only.
On Sundays, prior to July, First services 40 and 41 operated every 15 minutes each during daytimes and then every 30 minutes from around 18:00 to end of service. Stagecoach service 120 operated every 15 minutes on Sunday daytimes between Halfway Tram Terminus and Hallamshire Hospital with an extension every 30 minutes to Fulwood on Sunday daytimes only. The new Optio 120 service on Sundays now operated every 10 minutes during the daytime and every 15 minutes from Halfway Tram Terminus to Fulwood.
One simple network guide was developed that gave the customer a view of services and a summary of service timetables operated by all the operators in one communication, rather than multiple versions of timetables.
Frequency and spacing of services especially between Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Crystal Peaks and some services during evening and Sundays were improved, so customers with Optio ticketing did not have to wait as long as they did before the launch of the Optio scheme.
Travel South Yorkshire said that the claim was only used as part of their launch campaign in July and was no longer being distributed as part of their communications.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA noted that Travel South Yorkshire had supplied evidence of numerous improvements to their previous service. We also noted that the complainant had indicated some areas where he believed service had diminished, namely that there was less choice on the road where he worked as the route was now operated solely by First Group and not in conjunction with Stagecoach as was the case previously, thereby reducing the choice of travel options on offer. He also stated that services to Walkley, Lodge Moor and the Westminster Estate had been reduced or removed which indicated less flexibility and choice. We considered that the claim that the service offered 'flexibility and choice' was a statement of fact. However, in the overall context of the leaflet which talked about improvements to the service and which also claimed "your bus services are changing for the better" we considered that readers were likely to have interpreted the claim to mean that the new service offered 'more' flexibility and choice than the previous one. However, we considered that Travel South Yorkshire had provided us with evidence to indicate an overall improvement to the service had been achieved which we considered did offer more flexibility and choice overall. We therefore concluded that the claim was not misleading.
On this point, we investigated ad (a) under CAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation) but did not find it in breach.
2. Not upheld
The ASA noted the complainant's points about some changes where he believed the service had diminished and not improved. This was outlined as follows:
Stagecoach no longer operated beyond the Royal Hallamshire Hospital during the day and there were fewer buses on that section of the route. This meant that his fare was higher as he could no longer get to work on the Stagecoach service and needed to buy an additional ticket to complete his journey.
He said there were fewer destinations than previously, because the 123 service had been withdrawn from Walkley and the 120 service no longer served the Westminster Estate.
He added that passengers could no longer purchase a "Bus and Tram Megarider" or "Bus and Tram Day Rider" so passengers wishing to use the Supertram network had both less choice and higher fares.
However, we also considered the range of evidence submitted by Travel South Yorkshire to support their belief that the service had improved and on balance, we considered that their evidence supported that. We also considered that the claims "your bus services are changing for the better" and "your bus services have changed for the better" were used to describe the service in its entirety and though we noted that some aspects of the service had diminished, we were satisfied that the overall service had changed for the better. We therefore concluded that the claims were not misleading.
On this point we investigated ads (b) and (c) under CAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising) and 3.7 (Substantiation) but did not find them in breach.
Action
No further action required.