Stagecoach has launched a new premium bus service concept that will make extensive use of rail industry-style performance statistics and customer service pledges in an effort to woo car users onto its network.

The £2m trial of the concept, marketed under a new 'Goldline' brand, was launched this week by the group in Perth. There are plans to roll the new product out to key locations across the UK if it proves a success.

Passengers using the Goldline service will benefit from a host of initiatives that Stagecoach chief executive Brian Souter says will challenge people to rethink their expectations of bus travel. The eight new Alexander Dennis Enviro 300's used on the pilot route feature hand-stitched Italian leather seats, emulating Blazefield's successful X36 and Witch Way services in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

However, Souter says the concept is "about far more than a bus with leather seats". Drivers operating Goldline services will be hand-picked and wear a distinctive chauffeur-style uniform, with the whole concept backed-up by rail industry-style customer service guarantees that include minimum performance standards and refunds for buses delayed more than 20 minutes because of factors within the group's control. The group will also put independently collated performance data about Goldline services within the public domain every quarter.

Stagecoach will initially begin Goldline operations in Perth on route 7 between Scone and Hillend via the city centre on November 5, with a Goldline service between Leamington Spa and Warwick following later this month.

The Perth route is the same one that was used by the group as a test bed for the Kick Start concept, now adopted nationwide, in October 2000. In the first few years after the initial launch the group saw passenger numbers double.

However, Souter said that growth on the pilot route was running out of steam and Goldline has in essence been devised to relaunch the route in a quest for further growth.

"If you look at a graph of the life cycle of the original route, we've managed to transform it from a stable or declining market to one with strong growth, particularly in the first few years after the initial investment," he told Transit.

"But after five years, the growth was becoming more modest. That made us think 'what do we do?'. Well if we were retailers we'd look to freshen the product up and the perceived wisdom is that any retail product has a life cycle of around seven years before you need to relaunch it."

Souter added that the launch of the Goldline brand will build on existing initiatives that are seeing significant growth for Stagecoach's UK bus business, much of it being derived from middle class consumers who are turning to the bus both on convenience and environmental grounds.

Publication of Goldline's key performance statistics responds to the changing demographic of bus users, he said, many of whom had knowledge of rail industry-style performance statistics and customer service pledges.

"The middle classes are more aware of statistics and if we can get the kind of growth that you have in the rail industry that would be a remarkable achievement," he said adding that he hoped that it would challenge people to rethink their expectations of bus travel.

"This is about far more than a bus with leather seats," Souter continued. "It is a complete package offering passengers luxury travel and unrivalled first-class customer service on some of the greenest state-of-the-art transport in Europe.

"Our research shows that some people stick with the car because they like some of the comforts it offers. With Goldline, they can get catch a little luxury at a fraction of the cost of commuting to work by car. We believe there is significant potential to roll the Goldline concept out to further locations across the country."

The whole concept is being backed up by a £100,000 direct marketing campaign, with press and bus shelter adverts encouraging passengers to "catch a little luxury", and door-to-door sales team activity.

Bus fares on the pilot services will be the same as previously, but Souter does not rule out using the Goldline brand to test the elasticity of markets. This could see Goldline-branded buses running alongside conventional Stagecoach-branded services.

"It would be an interesting experiment to do," Souter added.