NEUSTADT, GERMANY-Germany keeps
lowering the threshold of successful city bus systems. The small spa town of Neustadt in
Bavaria, which has a permanent population of only about 11,000, has achieved a striking
marketing success with its two novel "Nessi" city buses, which carry an
improbable logo of the Loch Ness monster, a word play on the city's license plate.
Two lines traversing the town
center at half-hour intervals with only two buses, a standard size and a midi version,
have chalked up an estimated ridership of 480,000 during the first year of operations. The
farebox covered an impressive three quarters of the operating costs.
The success of the
"Nessi" is due in part to clever marketing, the cute logo, and the presence of
spa guests who can use the buses at no charge as part of their vacation package. The spa
operator reimburses the municipal utility that manages the mini-system with a sizable lump
sum for the free use privilege enjoyed by spa visitors.
The actual operation of the two
buses is contracted out to a local firm, with contract supervision handled by the
"Stadtwerke," the local municipal utility. The utility also cross-subsidizes the
manageable annual shortfall with receipts from its profitable electric power and water
supply operations, a model that is widely used in the funding of German public transit at
the municipal level.
Before the advent of the
"Nessi" in mid-1995, Bad Neustadt was served only inadequately, with regional
bus lines that traversed the city in a north/south direction, and a privately operated bus
for the spa guests. The first-year passenger estimate represents an 80 percent increase
over the previous ridership, and further gains are anticipated if and when a third bus
joins the fleet.
The "Nessi" marketing
campaign included the advance distribution of schedules and promotional materials to all
households, frequent media coverage, innovative bus stop signs featuring the mascot
monster, a popular street festival, and the initiative of a local bakery, which produced
"Nessi cookies" to celebrate the occasion. The slogan "Our monstrously
successful city bus" (with some liberties taken in translation) also helped build the
image of the system as a new local landmark.
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