Dublin Bus

Contents

1. Identify a company of your choice which operates in the Irish consumer market.
2. Conduct the Market Analysis
3. Analyse customer segments
4. Approach to Market Research.
5. The Marketing plan
• Executive summary
• SWOT analysis
• Competition, product offering description including position in product mix
• Marketing strategy & mission descriptors
• Segmentation, targeting and positioning
• Marketing mix decisions


Identify a company of your choice which operates in the Irish consumer market.
Dublin Bus is one of biggest company in a public transport operator in Ireland. The company established in 1987. At the moment it has up to 172 bus routes, not only in Dublin but also outside the capital city. Dublin bus service is working also at the night time and it has 24 night-time routes. The main owner of this company is the Irish government. The company is committed to meeting the needs of its customers and this is reflected in its mission statement, to succeed is providing excellent service to 1 customer through a committed team.
Dublin area with over 93% of the population having access to its services and 70% of public transport users choosing the bus as their type of transport. This demonstrates the ability of the Dublin Bus to provide transport for the public, but in 2008 was a difficult year for Bus Bus Átha Cliath (Dublin Bus) due to the effect of the recession on passenger numbers.

Dublin Bus all the time improve services and at 2008 Bus Átha Cliath and the Quality. Bus Network Office have been working together to achieve increased prioritization cross the city through the continuous introduction of new Quality Bus Corridors (QBCs) and the upgrading of existing ones in the Greater Dublin Area. During 2008, major radial QBCs were upgraded to Blanchardstown, Malahide, and Swords.

Owner introduce fleet replacement programme, the 74 low floor double deck buses were delivered and introduced into service during 2008 another 26 buses delivered in the early weeks of 2009.These purchases were made possible through an Exchequer Funding Contribution under the Transport 21 Investment Programme and are part of Bus Átha Cliath fleet replacement programme which ensures that the average age of fleet continues to remain at six years.
Public Transport in Dublin Capital city mostly is based on Dublin Bus Services and that’s make a Dublin Bus as Monopolist on the market even of other public transport option like Luas or Dart , Dublin Bus is one of most popular transport option for Dublin’s society. This company is trying all the time to meet the growing transport needs of an increasing urban population and to provide sustainable reliable rural links, for Dublin Bus have own market strategy and would like reform bus networks to increase capacity, frequency and attractiveness as a public transport option.



Dublin Bus struggles with an ever smaller number of passengers, which is due to decrease in unemployment because, if people don’t have a job doesn’t needs using transport public service every day. Another current problem for this Irish company is continuously increased fuel costs and this issue increase expenses for the company.
Effect of this situation has huge impact on this company , because Dublin Bus is committed to raising the prices of tickets for travel. The company aims is to gradually eliminate fuel powered vehicles to hybrid buses, which will decrease maintenance costs.
Visitors and residents can see old coaches in the National Transport Museum of Howth . It is a collection of historic public transport vehicles which drove in the Dublin road a few years earlier.


Conduct the market analysis.
Micro and macro environment within which Dublin Bus operates: The Micro-environment influences the organization directly. It includes suppliers that deal directly or indirectly, customers, employees, shareholders, competitors, media.
Customer: Dublin Bus is committed to providing a quality service that is efficient, safe and comfortable. Considerable progress has been made over the last number of years, currently over 70% of our vehicles are low floor and fitted with a ramp for use by wheel chairs/buggies. Dublin Bus is the biggest public transport, which cover every one area and part of Dublin city. They carry an average of half a million customers each day from Monday to Friday. The all customers receive a service that is safe, reliable, comfortable and value for money. All customers being treating equally and accommodating diversity. Dublin Bus are committed to giving a quality service that suits all of their customers. They will not tolerate any discrimination because of gender, age, disability, race, religion, marital status, family status, sexual orientation or membership of the Traveller community. They will make reasonable accommodation for customers with disabilities and meet the needs that are specific to particular groups of customers. We will also seek to make sure we take into account the needs, experiences and situations of customers from the groups covered by equality legislation when planning our business, designing our services and preparing strategies to develop Dublin Bus as an organisation. The customer safety is the most important things for them. They have fitted all of their buses with up to 9 CCTV cameras. The all drivers are trained to drive safely to make sure you are safe when you are on our buses.
Employee: Our buses serve the Greater Dublin Area. We have 1,182 buses which these cover nearly 63 million kilometres each year and currently employ 3,740 staff. We will ensure that there is no direct or indirect discrimination against any job applicant or employee on the grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community. Employees opportunities for training will be based on the requirements of the job and career development will be based on their abilities and merit, and neither will be influenced by considerations of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the traveller community. Employees with disabilities are treated fairly and with respect, and judged only on their abilities and performance of the job. We have developed a policy in relation to the employment of people with disabilities.

Competitors: Dublin has an extensive bus network but only a few rail and tram lines. The buses can be slow and unreliable due to the city’s traffic but for many destinations outside the city centre (including the airport) they are the only public transport option. The majority of buses are operated by Dublin Bus with some smaller companies operating other routes, most usefully an express service to Dublin Airport operated by Aircoach.
Big competitors for Dublin Bus are the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and almost silent LUAS trams commenced service in Dublin in 2004. There are two lines (unfortunately, there's a 15 minute walk from the Green Line city terminus to the Red Line).

Macro environment:
Changes in the wider macro-environment may not be as close to the marketing firm’s day-to-day operations, but they are just as important. The main factors making up these wider macro-environmental forces fall into four groups.
1. Political and legal factors
2. Economic factors
3. Social and cultural factors
4. Technological factors

New technologies is replacing its on-bus ticketing system on a phased basis. The first phase of the project (completed in 2006) was the replacement of the drivers’ ticket issuing machines. The second phase of the project (completed June 2008) was the installation of smartcard readers on all buses. With the introduction of smartcard readers, a range of Dublin Bus prepaid tickets were converted from magnetic stripe cards to smartcards.
The third and final phase of the project will be the introduction of the Integrated Ticketing Scheme. This will allow customers to use one card to access the services of all licensed public transport operators in the Dublin area.

Legal: Made by Córas Iompair Éireann in exercise of the powers conferred on it by subsection (1) of section 22 of the Transport Act, 1950 (No. 12 of 1950) and subsection (1) of section 28 of the Transport (Re-organization of Córas Iompair Éireann) Act, 1986 (No. 31 of 1986), after consultation with Bus Átha Cliath-Dublin Bus, for the purposes set our in paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (e), (g) and (h) of subsection (1) of section 22 of the Transport Act, 1950, in respect of the exercise by Bus Átha Cliath-Dublin Bus of the function of providing passenger transport services and by section 8 of the Transport Act, 1958 (No. 19 of 1958) in respect of the fixing of charges and the terms and conditions of carriage.
1. These Bye-Laws may be cited as the Bus Átha Cliath-Dublin Bus Bye-Laws, 1996.
2. These Bye-Laws shall come into operation on the date specified in that behalf in the Order of the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications confirming them. In these Bye-Laws: "appropriate fare", "authorised person", ”passenger”, “bus stop”.


Socio-Cultural: Individuals are selected, promoted and treated only on the basis of their abilities and merits, according to the requirements of the job.
We will ensure that there is no direct or indirect discrimination against any job applicant or employee on the grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability, race or membership of the Traveller community.

Dublin bus is the main transport company in the town which cover every one point in Dublin and also provide transport in places around Dublin as Swords, Balbriggan, Dublin Airport , Maynooth, Bray, Lucan.
To travel within Dublin City, you can use public transport. There are 3 parts to this system: buses, trains and trams, which are competitors for Dublin bus. Many other private bus companies also offer transport in and out of the city. A frequent train service called DART runs along the coast of Dublin, from Malahide and Howth in north Dublin to to Greystones in the south. A frequent tram service called LUAS connects Dublin city centre with suburbs in the south and south-west of the city.
Dublin bus target is transport 21. Transport 21 is the ten-year capital investment framework agreed by the Government to provide for the transformation of Ireland’s national roads, public transport and regional airports.
Transport 21 is the largest investment ever in Ireland’s transport infrastructure. From 2006 to 2015, €34 billion is being invested to create a world-class transport system for Ireland. Transport 21 is part of Ireland’s National Development 2007-2013.
As target for Dublin Bus is to provide safety, quality and better services for their customers.

Dublin Bus is the biggest bus company in Dublin which cover county Dublin. They has 1,182 buses which these cover nearly 63 million kilometres each year and currently employ 3,740 staff. The customer safety is the most important things for them. They have fitted all of their buses with up to 9 CCTV cameras. The all drivers are trained to drive safely to make sure you are safe when you are on our buses.

Analyze customer segments.

The segmentation concept was first developed by Smith in 1957, and is concerned with grouping consumers in terms of their needs. The aim of segmentation is to identify a group of people who have a need or needs that can be met by a single product, in order to concentrate the marketing firm`s efforts most effectively and economically.
Each consumer is an individual with individual needs and wants. On the face of it, this creates a major problem for the marketer, since it would clearly be impossible to tailor-make or customize each product to the exact requirements of each individual.
Marketers try to identify groups and subgroups within total markets. Recall that market segmentation consists of dividing a heterogeneous market into a number of smaller, more homogeneous submarkets. Almost any variable: age, sex, product usage, lifestyle, expected benefit, may be used as a segmenting variable, but the logic of the strategy is always the same.
Subgroups of people with similar behavior, values or backgrounds may be identified. The subgroups will be smaller and more homogeneous than the market as a whole. It should be easier to deal with smaller groups of similar customers than with large groups of dissimilar customers.
The number of market segments customer within the total market depends largely on the strategist`s creativity in identifying those segments. In fact, the idea behind market segmentation is for an organization to choose one or a few meaningful segments and concentrate its efforts on satisfying those selected parts of the market. Focusing its efforts in this way enables the organization to allocate its marketing resources effectively.
The Dublin Bus Company serves the Greater Dublin Area and has 1,182 buses which cover nearly 63 million kilometers each year, by carrying an average of half a million customers each day from Monday to Friday and currently employ 3,740 staff. The company is committed to giving its costumers a service that is safe, reliable, comfortable and value for money.
The organisation is committed to giving a quality service that suits all its clients. There is no toleration of any discrimination because of gender, age, disability, race, religion, marital status, family status, sexual orientation or membership of the Traveller community. There is a reasonable accommodation for customers with disabilities which meet the needs that are specific to particular groups of costumers.
The organisation seeks to make sure that it does take into account the needs, experiences and situations of costumers from the groups covered by equality legislation when planning its business, designing its services and preparing strategies to develop Dublin Bus organisation.


As part of helping everyone use its services, the company has made 70% of its fleet accessible low-floor vehicles; has made its public offices accessible; is providing a Customer Comment Desk and information on all of its services from 59 Upper O`Connell St, Dublin 1 and has introduced a Travel Assistance Scheme by phone, (01) 703 3204.
You can get up-to-date information on its services from its website, www.dublinbus.ie.
The organization is providing a service you can count on. At least 95% of their buses will follow the timetable and will not leave their terminus early ( unless there is a good safety or service reason).
Targeting is concerned with choosing which segments to aim for. Segmentation is essentially about dividing up the market; targeting is about the practicalities of doing business within the market. The two are clearly closely linked, since the segmentation process will usually provide information as to which segments are likely to prove most profitable, or will help the firm achieve its strategic objectives in other ways.
An organization`s mix of projects will be constantly changing, and each has resources implications and profit consequences. For example, the scarcity of resources inevitably means that choices must be made in rationing available resources (whether in the form of funds, management time) among competing activities. It may be that new activities can only be adopted if old ones are deleted, thereby freeing resources. One starting point is to establish the cost of each of the organization`s existing activities.
We can think of cost as being equivalent in broad terms to effort, so what we are initially seeking to establish is how the available effort has been applied to the various activities in which the organization is engaged
The Dublin Bus is making sure you have a place on the bus. Buses fill up, especially at peak times, which mean one has to wait for the next one. They regularly look at where buses fill up, but if the costumer`s bus normally passes by his stop because it is full, then he has the option to let the Dublin Bus know, by contacting either the Costumer Comment Desk, by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone.
At least once a year, The Dublin Bus will be sending detailed bus service information to its client`s home, but only if that person lives in the Greater Dublin Area and has a Dublin Bus Service.
The information concerning its services will be provided as often as possible. For instance, the company is making sure that the correct and up-to date details will appear on at least 95% of the bus stops. Also, when changing a timetable or a bus route, the change will be announced in the newspaper and on its website. A new timetable will be brought out before the change takes place. If possible, an explanation will be given and the costumer will be told in which way it will affect its service.

By keeping its buses and premises clean, the business will keep a good image. The inside of the buses is vacuumed and the outside is washed at least once a day. At least once every 4 weeks all its buses are cleaned inside. Also, the public areas of Dublin Bus buildings are cleaned at least once a day.
Filming with Dublin Bus is included. Three weeks advance notice is required for requests of filming, or photo shoots requests. To allow filming, is required the following insurance:" Specific Indemnity to Dublin Bus and Coach Impair Eireann " is to be noted under liability policies for the duration of the filming which has to be placed on the costumer`s insurance.
One can experience Dublin with a Dublin Bus Tour, which offers a live commentary by experienced tour guides.
Positioning is concerned with the brand`s relationship with other brands aimed at the same segment. Positioning is about the place the brand occupies in the minds of the consumers, relative to other brands.
It is possible to indicate trends in a company`s performance over time by plotting successive ratios on a graph and thereby showing trends. Some important trends may only become apparent over a number of months (or even years), and ratio analysis can ensure that such trends do not develop unnoticed. The causes for this trend may be found by breaking it down into its secondary components and so on through the ratio pyramid.
It could prove necessary in a specific instance to work right through the ratio pyramid in plotting trends in order to isolate the causes of variations from the desired trend line in higher levels of the ratio hierarchy, and it may also be necessary to apply some imagination and common sense.
In many industries, and especially in those in which operating methods, technology, product characteristics and general operating conditions are very similar, it is helpful to have comparative figures for one`s own company and for other companies within the industry. From published accounts it is possible to see the primary, secondary, and tertiary ratios (hence trends) of competing companies, but no reasons for divergences between one`s own company`s results and other companies results can be discerned from such accounts due to a lack of detail relating to the lower part of the ratio pyramid and so there is no guidance for future actions.
One major cause of divergence between the results of any two companies can be found in their use of differing accounting techniques and definitions.
Dublin Bus is proud to sponsor a number of key Cultural Arts, Youth and Sports initiatives and events throughout the city. As the main transport provider in the Greater Dublin Area, it is an opportunity for Dublin Bus to assist and partner local projects that benefit communities across the four corners of the City.
A very important partner is the newspaper "Evening Herald". An annual big event in the GAA calendar named "Evening Herald Dubs Stars", for Dublin club and county players and supporters alike. A team of strong performing club stars are chosen to join forces to form the Dubs Stars teams in both Hurling and Gaelic Football. The Dubs Stars team play against the Dublin County team, match date is usually at the end of the year.
Approach to Market Research.
There is considerable debate over the term `market research`; many marketers believe that the term `marketing research` is more appropriate. Market research is usually considered to be research into costumer needs, wants and preferences; marketing research is sometimes used to describe all research carried out for the purpose of supporting marketing decisions. Whichever term is used, market research is concerned with the disciplined collection and evaluation of specific data in order to help suppliers understand their customer`s needs better.
Market research is the process of collecting, analysing and presenting useful information about consumers.
The purpose of the research is to collect data and process it into usable information that can be used to make management decisions.
After setting the objectives, the process of collecting the data can begin. Data can be collected from either primary sources or secondary sources.
Primary sources are original research: questionnaire, interviews, experiments or product tests with consumers.
The Dublin Bus is answering the customers calls during normal office hours, the company aims that the information and customer service staff will answer 90% of phone calls within 60 seconds. For any enquiries outside office hours, the appropriate bus depot directly can be contacted.
The Dublin Bus is ensuring its clients that dealing with its staff will be a good experience and the members of staff will be polite and helpful; think of the costumer`s safety and comfort when driving; wear their uniform and not smoke on a bus or in a public area of our head office.
Another very important aspect is represented by the costumer`s comments which are a priority in the market research. The opinion of its clients is very essential for the development of the organization.

Secondary research comes from already published information in journals, newspapers, commercially published information in journals, newspapers, commercially published market research, government statistics, directories, yearbooks, CD-ROM databases, the Internet and other published materials.
The website is very useful for both, the company and its clients, mostly by giving feedback and up-to-date information about both of them. The Dublin Bus uses independent market researchers to research how its bus services are doing and what, the customer, and thinks of it. The researchers publish their results twice a year and they are inserted in the company`s website.

Marketing effectiveness is to a very large extent determined by the extent to which the organization reflects the five major attributes of a marketing orientation, namely:
1. A customer-orientated philosophy;
2. An integrated marketing organization;
3. Adequate marketing information;
4. A strategic orientation;
5. Operational efficiency.
Each of these dimensions can be measured relatively easily, he suggests, by means of a checklist and an overall rating then arrived at for the organization. It needs to be recognized, however, that an organization`s marketing effectiveness is not always reflected in current levels of performance. It is quite possible, for example, for an organization to be performing well simply by force of circumstance rather than because of good management. In other words, good performance may be due to being in the right place at the right time as opposed to anything more fundamental. A change in strategy as the result of the effectiveness review might well have the result of improving performance from good to excellent. Equally, an organization may be performing badly despite seemingly excellent marketing planning. Again, the explanation may well be environmental rather than poor management.
Recognizing this, the purpose of going through the process of a marketing effectiveness rating review is to identify those areas in which scope exists for marketing improvement. Action, in the form of revised plans, can be taken to achieve this.
With regard to the process of arriving at a measure of marketing effectiveness, the procedure is straightforward and involves managers from a number of departments. In practice, as might be expected, few companies achieve a score in the highest range. The majority of companies, however, cluster around the fair-to-good range, suggesting that scope exists for improvements in one or more of the five areas.
Everyone at Dublin Bus has a role in ensuring that this policy is demonstrated in everyday performance and that Dublin Bus continues as leaders in good corporate practice.
The marketing manager needs timely, systematically gathered information about the organization`s customers, environment, and marketing activities. Without it, the marketing manager has no accurate basis on which to make decisions. Information reduces uncertainty and helps to define problems and identify opportunities.
The Dublin Bus Community Support Programme can be applied for through an application form. Forms can be filled in online, are available to download or can be found at the Media & Communications Department, on 59 Upper O`Connell`s Street, Dublin 1.
This year 2009 represents the celebration of the seventh year from the existence of this event.

Another method, which remains the commonest method, is the survey. Most people have at some time or other been asked to participate in a survey. Self-completion questionnaires need to be simple and unambiguous. All questioners should be piloted at least once.
Quantitative research methodology deals with areas that can be expressed in numbers. It will tell researchers, for example, what proportion of the population travels with the buses of Dublin Bus and what their ages and occupations are; what will not do very easily is tell researchers why those people prefer the bus to the car.

Qualitative research is to do with how people feel about the product, advertisement or company; the approach is usually more probing than would be the case with quantitative research, and therefore the sample size (number of respondents) will be much smaller. Qualitative research will often tell researchers why people behave in the way they do, but since it usually consists of subjective opinions it can be difficult to quantify.

Market research is never 100% reliable.

The Marketing plan.
Executive summary
Irish government would like dramatically reform our bus networks to increase capacity, frequency and attractiveness as a public transport option.
* Business Owners will conduct a tender for the new bundles of bus routes.
* New Irish Transport Authority (ITA) define public transport needs, the routes and services required and to benchmark the level of public service subsidy required to operate these routes.
* The Irish Transport Authority at the outset will create a national transport strategy, define the routes and then invite tenders for the provision of these services of routes or a geographic area. After this carried out a tender.
* The company that wins the tender will be bound to 5-year contract with the “ITA”, the contract to become a specified route, departure and arrival times, cost, approach to the customer, etc.
* Owner will amend planning laws to make local transport plans an integral part of all Councils’ Development Plans.

We have identified a number of areas where potential exists to improve the effectiveness of current operations, with consequential financial benefits for the company . The report recommends for example creating a more effective and appropriate bus network for Dublin combined with a range of operational improvements for both Dublin and Provincial services.

SWOT analysis

Strengths
* well-developed network of intro-urban public transport. * substantial issue of public transport in the service of travel within the city * relatively wide traffic lanes in the existing buildings, including the inner-city * progress in the alignment of transport infrastructure of Dublin Bus to people with disabilities *monopoly market * owned by the Government *receive subsidies from the European Union to modernize TRANSPORT * good condition of vehicles bus
* Customer Comment Desk and information is in the city Centre -Ideal location for tourists and residents -(59 Upper O’Connell St Dublin 1)
* strong point is also offering services such as tourists visiting the city by driving double decker bus, in this way Dublin Bus expands own services *staff often is polite and helpful for all customer * all buses have showing clear numbers and destinations * Dublin Bus Offering clean and safe shelters * have introduced a Travel Assistance Scheme
*different kinds and types of transit tickets bus lines (daily, monthly tickets) * well-used EU and government funds for the purchase of new buses * creation of new bus stops *this is buses smoke-free, people which do not smoke have a better ride comfort * extend the bus line that more people can use the services of Dublin Bus * reasonable price for services ( bus tickets) *Dublin bus have strong position on Market because has also : Nitelink, Airlink, Xpresso services or Dublin Tour Bus.


Weakness
* Low quality of the relationship between neighborhood village, for example, if we want to get from Blanchardstown to Lucan by Dublin Bus, customers has to come to the city center and then change the bus lines. The whole trip takes 10 minutes by the car and by bus about 1 hour to 1.5 hours. * More and more people use own car transport * rising ticket prices from year to year *creating large amounts of pollution that comes out of service buses such as carbon dioxide * society becomes accustomed to getting better and more comfortable technology and services will therefore choose for example, Dart or Luas. These machines are younger more modern and more convenient * Dublin Bus is one of the slowest option of public transport
Threat

*The absence or scarcity of financial resources
*Transport growth in traffic congestion
*The increase in operating costs due to rising prices
*Loss of passengers because people bay the car
*Ability to create new private bus companies
*Reduce the number of people when the Luas line had be opens * create a new competition in Dublin market

Opportunities

*Ability to obtain funds from the EU to develop transport infrastructure
*Modern Ticket to increase the attractiveness of using public transport, for example, the use of all means of transport within 1 hour through one ticket price.
*Ability to create new bus lines and the creation of new jobs.
*Opportunity to use more professional training and develop the abilities for staff.



Analyzing all the factors can be seen on the edge strengths weaknesses and opportunities and treats. We can see how huge potential have Dublin Bus company, and what there are the possibilities to achieve.


Competition, product offering description including position in product mix
Bus Átha Cliath constitutes a relatively expensive mass transit solution and, as they are road-based, they have an expansive geographical reach and can respond easily when demographic changes cause shifts in demand. However this public transport does not have a route from and to the airport through the small neighborhoods or periphery of the City. In this situation , the competitors like “Urbus” Transport Service takes advantage of this by providing service for people living in small neighborhoods or periphery of the City . In this case Dublin Bus should think about the extension and developing its offers. At the moment, Dublin Bus has a monopoly on almost all routes in the city. Competition would lead to an improved service. In turn, more people would be prepared to rely on buses in preference to private cars. Unfortunately, at present time , neither the government and the opposition parties do not propose to introduce competition to the Public Bus Transport market. Threat for Dublin Bus is other Transport company called "Urbus" which offers a transports service for people going to and from airport. This company is cheaper around 1/3 price than Dunlin City Link offer and also Big competitors for Dublin Bus are the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and LUAS trams transport service in Dublin in 2004. There are two lines but unfortunately this is not road transport.
For promoting the Dublin Bus offer for the students get benefit if they have a student travel card. The Student Travel card is a secure Photo ID that is the key to exclusive discounted Dublin Bus tickets. The Student Travel card is also a national discount card, entitling the holder to many discounted goods and services. Also Althla Bus Dublin Bus will offer a new 50c City Centre Fare. This offer will apply all day, 7 days a week on all routes within a special City Centre Zone ,between the City Centre such as: Parnell Square, O’Connell Street, the Quays and the IFSC to Merrion Square, St. Stephens Green, South. Great Georges Street and Parliament Street. Just ask the driver for a City Centre Fare when you board the bus, stating your destination within the City Centre ZoneDublin. Moreover the Bus doesn’t need promotion of the company because this is only one public company which offers transport around Dublin city. The company has long years of experience and reputation of the company therefore doesn’t need to advertise. Moreover Dublin Bus give offer to another company to advertise their products and to derive financial benefit from this.
In spite of charging relatively high ticket prices, Dublin Bus still provides its customers with an inadequate service: buses rarely arrive on time; due to overcrowding, passengers are often left standing at bus stops; an unacceptable percentage of buses are out of service at peak times; many drivers are badly in need of customer service training etc.


Marketing strategy & mission descriptors.

Because of the marketing strategies you can enter to strong public transport systems which could help cities in meeting these challenges, improving mobility Individual residents and bringing benefits to society and natural environment. That will enrich the community as a whole.
Dublin Bus is a member of the CIE group of companies that provides transport services throughout Ireland. It is a limited company owned by the Irish government. Dublin bus have over 3,500 employees we operate a fleet and also have over 1,100 buses over 150 routes in Dublin Area. Bus Átha Cliath has also routes to and from county : Meath, Wicklow and Kildare but important core business is the transport of commuters in and out of the city Centre and its environs.
In such a large and popular company at all times should be introduced to modernize and realize the company mission. After the end of old missions and aims, the company sets its new models and new missions to help in constant development and improvement of the company.
According the Competition Authority said “The Mission Statement refers only to regulations”. Regulation is certainly appropriate to ensure high standards of driver training or vehicle safety, for example. Where market failures arise, economic regulation may be an appropriate tool, but this regulation should be as light-handed as possible.” We agree about that because well-trained staff can see hazards on the road and then might take care of the safety of passengers using the services of Dublin Bus.
In recent decades, public transport has become much more customer-oriented. To continue this positive development, operators public transport authorities must take several steps, such as: Develop a comprehensive marketing approach, match the customer experience to customer expectations. Better image of public transport in the eyes of policy makers and
society, for example carry out a comprehensive marketing and communication campaign, addressed to the people to be aware of the new label are placed on electrically powered means of transport.
Another mission is the failure to raise the cost of ticket even if the company will increase costs and expenses ,if such a situation happens, the company management will look for other savings in the company, as the last resort will be taken note of the increasing prices of bus tickets for traveling.



For the public transport in Dublin is the total replacement of buses with never, more modern and cost-effective buses. These purchases were made possible through an Exchequer funding contribution under the Transport 21 Investment Programme and are part of Bus Bus Átha Cliath’s continuing fleet replacement programme which ensures that .Those marketing strategy will be finished to remain at six years.
Moreover at the moment , Dublin Bus has 70% low-floor vehicles but would like enter rest of low-floor buses as soon as possible to allow better transportation for disabled and older people.
Another of the mission statement for Dublis Bus is aims is create and develop online channels. The aims is to
* Boost site traffic
* Build customer loyalty
* Improve efficiency
* Communicate better with stakeholders and also improved website design aesthetic or improved website Information. One of the most notable achievements of the project was to enable Dublin Bus to efficiently update the website with complex content and timetabling information whilst ensuring that the presentation of this content was extremely user friendly and intuitive to the end user, and also will include Multi-lingual content, site search and dedicated timetable searches, content (page) subscriptions, SMS & email marketing subscriptions, timetable display & download options and online careers applications.
A key element of the Dublin Bus website is the seamless integration with Adobe In Design. This innovation not only reduces the risk of data input error but significantly reduces the number of man hours required for updating on street publications.


Segmentation, targeting and positioning.

Segmentation, targeting, and positioning are marketing tools used by a company to gain competitive advantage in the market.

Local bus services are primarily designed to fill fully local needs. They satisfy more basic requirements in terms of access to jobs, education, shops and social services, particularly for those with limited access to a car. They also have a role in providing opportunities for interchange with the longer distance bus network and with rail services.
The evidence from cities around the world indicates that, irrespective of the regulatory regime, the public transport mode share and passenger journeys per capita is dependent on population. The large city like Dublin have a huge potential of public transport.

Existing & new customers
 Segment of group of young children between 0-16 years old those children are using service of Dublin Bus to gets to school or colleges.
 Segment of group of people over (16 age ) This group of people use the transport to gets to work or if they want to visit somebody or something.

The campaign has to design to reach an audience as wide as possible, revitalizing the brand for those who grew up with Dublin Bus. that’s group of adult people and modernizing it for the younger audience like young years old young adults by using e-tools such as social network websites.
In during the year 2010 company wants to reach more audience compared to 2009 by the more modern website pages.

Our information about current trends in Irish society tells us that
 Thrifty peoples
 People who caters to the environment
These are 2 key segments that we also need to target.
Thrifty people choose one of the cheapest public transports. People do not buy cars because want to save own money. This people prefer cheaper and faster service of transport (especially if someone wants to get to the center of the capital) which is offered by the Dublin Bus.
* Variety and frequency of trips
* Night buses
* A relatively small price
* The variety of tickets (weekly, monthly, yearly)


Customers have been given this what they want. Fares are competitive and there are extensive services throughout the country. More people now travel by Átha Cliath . The company aims to provide a quality service at the right times, with the right fares on the best possible vehicles. . The company is unique among bus operators I the range and extent of bus services provided.
We have Two the most important segments of customers, grouped by their age and behaviour
Age Segment
 0-16years old age (young people )
 16 + years old (adults)

Behaviour Segment
 Thrifty peoples(they don’t want to spend money for their own car)
 People which needs to get to school ,college or work


The market segment Its often defined by age, gender , behaviour or socio-economic grouping. Market Targeting is the process in which intended actual markets are defined, analyzed and evaluated just before the final decision to enter is made.

Dublin Bus greatest attention is focused on adults over 16 years old ( man’s and female’s) whos use public transport every day, because they need to get to work .The second segment are people between 10-25 years of age mostly students( girl’s and boy’s), this group of people must use the public services if they want to get to university or school, usually don’t have other choice because they don’t have car or drive license and also they do not want to spend a lots of money on the parking and car insurance.

Dublin Bus passenger analysis Dublin Bus has grown passenger numbers by almost 6% during the period 2001-2007. Passenger numbers peaked in 2003/4 at 149 million passengers. A 3% fall in passenger numbers in 2005 coincided with the introduction of Luas services. Passenger numbers for 2008 are predicted by Dublin Bus to fall by approximately 3% and a further 5% in 2009 due to the general economic downturn.


Source: Dublin Transportation Office, QBC monitoring report (2007)


This graph shows how looks the public transport in Dublin and which of services offered is the most popular. The most popular public service is Dublin Bus. This 28 % of whole population each day chose the Dublin bus service. Also still very popular is car transport its around 36% of whole public transport in Dublin. Dublin Bus is a leader company on the market providing public transport services for people living in Dublin area.

Marketing mix decisions.

"Marketing mix" is a general phrase used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market. The 4 Ps is one way - probably the best-known way - of defining the marketing mix, and was first expressed in 1960 by E J McCarthy.
The 4Ps are:
1 Product (or Service)
2 Place
3 Price
4 Promotion
Product –
“Dublin Bus is a subsidiary company of Córas Iompair Éireann. Dublin Bus provides bus services within Dublin city and to and from the surrounding areas. These services include city bus services, Railink, School link, Airlink, Nitelink and DART feeder buses. Dublin Bus also operates day tours and is obliged to provide services to people with disabilities.” /http://www.dublin.ie/transport/bus-network.htm/
“Dublin Bus is a member of the CIE group of companies that provides transport services throughout Ireland. The company, established in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann which is owned by the Irish government. In Ireland Dublin Bus is the largest public transport operator, providing services in the Greater Dublin Area. With over 3,500 employees we operate a fleet of over 1,100 buses”. /http://www.biznetiis.com/Case-Studies/Dublin-Bus.aspx/.
Place
Over 150 routes across and around the Greater Dublin Area. Our services stretch into Meath, Wicklow and Kildare but our core business is the transport of commuters in and out of the city centre and its environs. The main radial routes are focused upon Dublin's sixteen Quality Bus Corridors which provide buses with daytime access to the city centre. Express buses (branded "Xpresso") operate on similar routes, but have a limited number of stops and a higher minimum fare. The company cover every one point in Dublin and county Dublin days and nights .

Price- The fare you pay is based on the number of stages you travel. Most journeys within the City Centre are between 1-3 stages. Stages * The number of stages travelled is calculated by deducting the boarding stage number from the alighting stage number *Passengers boarding between stage points pay the appropriate fare from the preceding stage point. Passengers alighting between stage points pay the appropriate fare to the next stage point. *All route stages are listed under the timetables. Random spot checks are carried out without warning on all Dublin Bus services. Dublin Bus officials inspect all customer tickets to check that they are valid. If you do not have a valid ticket, you will be issued with a standard fare which means you must pay a penalty of €50 within 21 days.
There is different price for different people. For example: 1 day adult will cost 6 euro or 1 day family ticket is 10 euro. Tourist tickets- Dublin Bus offers two value ticket options to help you explore Dublin during your stay, as well a range of tours to discover the city and its surroundings in the company of expert guides. 1 day ticket is 6 euro, 3 days- 13 euro. With the 3 Day Freedom ticket, you will also get discounts on entry fees at many popular visitor attractions, so it offers excellent value for your visit. Just validate your ticket on each bus and enjoy the complete freedom of the city. Please collect your discount map and guide from the driver when boarding the Dublin Bus Tour.
Promotions Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs Free Travel Passes using Dublin Bus services. From 11th September 2006, Free Travel Passes may be used at all times. Free Travel Pass Holders who fail to provide their pass will be liable for the appropriate fare and claims for refunds in such circumstances will not be entertained. Misuse of Free Travel Passes may lead to the pass being confiscated and the holder liable for payment of the standard fare. Dublin Bus propose very often different promotions .
Dublin Bus will offer a new 50c City Centre Fare. This fare will apply all day, 7 days a week on all routes* within a special City Centre Zone. Frequent bus routes connect all areas in the City Centre, from Parnell Square, O’Connell Street, the Quays and the IFSC to Merrion Square, St. Stephens Green, South. Great Georges Street and Parliament Street. Just ask the driver for a City Centre Fare when you board the bus, stating your destination within the City Centre Zone. The students get promotions if they have a student travel card. The Student Travel card is a secure Photo ID that is the key to exclusive discounted Dublin Bus tickets. The Student Travel card is also a national discount card, entitling the holder to many discounted goods and service.

Bibliography.

Books
 Blythe J. "Essentials of Marketing ", Third Edition, (University of Glamorgan), Financial Times Prentice Hall, published by Pearson Education.
 McDonnell J.& Hall D.& Molloy I (2007)”Dublin Bus- Changing with the City 1987-2006” Ian Allan Publishing Ltd, Surrey- England,
 Molloy I.& Hall D. & Mc. Donnell J. (2007)”Bus Eirean- A practical history 1987-2006” Ian Allan Publishing Ltd, Surrey- England.
 Wilson R. & Gilligan C. “Strategic Marketing Management - Planning, implementation and control” Second Edition, Butterworth Heinemann published.
 William G. and Michael d`Amico, " Effective Marketing - Creating and Keeping costumers", Second Edition, by, published by South-Western College Publishing.

Articles/ Raports
 “Comments of the Competition Authority (2007) “Department of Transport, Competition Authority, Dublin, p. 1-13.
 “Statement of Strategy 2008-2010”
 Meagher J.(2009)„Customer Charter 2008” ,Dublin,p.1-8.
 Quinlan R.(12.October 2008), “Dublin Bus is 'trying to drive us out of business” Independent press, Dublin.




Website
 “A Fine Gael Policy Statement on Bus Competition” (November 3rd 2009) p. 1-9 (http://www.finegael.org/upload/FG%20Policy%20Statement%20on%20Bus%20Competition.pdf)
 Altlavista, www.altavista.com
 “Annual Raport Statement 2008” ,( Dublin Bus),) (26th August 2009.), http://www.dublinbus.ie/PageFiles/2430/AnnualReport2008.pdf
 C I É Transport Group http://www.cie.ie/home/ (2010)
 Dublin Bus, Dublin (2010)
* http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Fares--Tickets/
* http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Tourist-Information/
* http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/About-Us/
* http://www.dublinbus.ie/PageFiles/2430/AnnualReport2008.pdf
 “Dublin Bus – Case study”, Biznetiis – Internet Solution , Belfast (2010) (http://www.biznetiis.com/Case-Studies/Dublin-Bus.aspx/.)
 Dublin City Council (2010) (http://www.dublin.ie/home.htm)
 Wikipedia – The Free Encyklopedia (2010),”Dublin”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin