Free travel prizes just the ticket for bus users

Jun 20 2008 by David Norbury, Chester Chronicle

Free travel prizes just the ticket for bus users

LUCKY bus passengers have scooped hundreds of pounds of prizes in a series of draws.

The seven-week competition was launched by First to attract people from Blacon and Saughall on to their buses.

It was open to all passengers on routes 1, 1A, 3, 3A, 15 and 15B travelling on a £1.50 return ticket.

Customers were asked to save their tickets, add their contact details and then put them into special collection boxes at the Chester Tourist Information Centre at the Town Hall.

Promotional leaflets, giving details about the prize draw, were delivered to all homes in Blacon and Saughall and posters were displayed on the buses.

Each week a first prize was on offer for a month’s unlimited free bus travel or £30 worth of high street shopping vouchers, with a second prize of a week’s unlimited free bus travel or £15 worth of high street shopping vouchers.

At the end of May, all the weekly winners’ names were entered into a grand prize draw for a year’s unlimited free bus travel or £500 in high street shopping vouchers, with a second prize of £100 in high street shopping vouchers.

Sue Foster, welcome manager for Chester City Council, drew out the big prize winners with First marketing manager, Tony Coram and Frank Parkes, First operations manager for Chester.

First prize went to Julie Cooke from Saughall, and second to Stephen Holt from Blacon, who was in the tourist information centre at the time collecting his first prize in the final week of the draw.

“We wanted to do something to attract people to our services who might not normally travel with First,” said commercial director, Paul De Santis.

“And we also wanted to encourage people to try the bus who might normally use their cars and get them to think about traffic congestion and its impact on the environment.”