Trivia: Worst branding elements used for a public transport service

[dorsetdesiro]

You’re not kidding. “First’s branding of ScotRail” is my answer to this thread.

National Express ran ScotRail until 2004. They didn’t plaster their name on anything – they kept the old ScotRail name and logo, and just changed the colour scheme. The average Joe probably didn’t even realise National Express ran ScotRail.

When First took over, they went crazy. Vinyl (f) logos everywhere. They did them so fast they weren’t even on straight. Repainted all the trains in that horrible Barbie livery. Had all the signs redone with their logo.

I’m pretty sure the Scottish Government’s “permanent ScotRail branding and livery” was their way of telling First to knock it off.

Indeed. SWR had a lucky escape, it would be "First South Western" with the godforsaken Barbie livery if FirstGroup hadn't moved away from coroprate branding

 

[43096]

I actually think it's a decent slogan. What the 'next' is is down to the individual I would say, but I personally associate the most suitable word with 'generation'. You could also suggest the incomplete sentence could be continued with 'wave of talent' for example.

There are absolutely worse slogans out there, and this one I like. Depending on your viewpoint on Hitachi it's either good or bad I guess! In any case, it makes a fair point that we should inspire whatever follows us to be creative, push the boundaries of ideal thinking and not simply repeat what mistakes we've made etc.

Inspire the next… fleet grounding
Inspire the next… crack

It has of course been corrupted as “Detachi. Inspect the next.”

 

[Techniquest]

Indeed. SWR had a lucky escape, it would be "First South Western" with the godforsaken Barbie livery if FirstGroup hadn't moved away from coroprate branding

That does make one wonder what a 458 or 444 would look like in the Barbie livery!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 May 2022 ==

Inspire the next… fleet grounding
Inspire the next… crack

It has of course been corrupted as “Detachi. Inspect the next.”

I was wondering how long it would take for that to come up. If it means that future engineers will factor in things like track condition in future fleet replacements, at least the issues faced by Hitachi will have been worthwhile in that respect.

I still say that we could have had a lot worse for the HST replacement.

 

[43096]

I was wondering how long it would take for that to come up. If it means that future engineers will factor in things like track condition in future fleet replacements, at least the issues faced by Hitachi will have been worthwhile in that respect.

Hitachi are meant to be a competent global train manufacturer. They should be understanding the environment they're being used in (it's not exactly a surprise!) and have also used a grade of aluminium that no other manufacturer has considered for that purpose. That's not a lesson that should be learned at great expense by taxpayers - it's the basics that should be being delivered by a competent manufacturer.

I still say that we could have had a lot worse for the HST replacement.

It's hard to see what could be worse. Poor specification, poor build quality, a poor contract, appalling value for money, and I haven't even got to the ride quality and interiors yet.

 

[swaldman]

It's not rail, but the question does say "public transport". A few years back one of the US airlines had an ad campaign that said (for example), "Fly to Boston, arrive somewhere completely different".

 

[dorsetdesiro]

That does make one wonder what a 458 or 444 would look like in the Barbie livery!

*shudders* To think of the 442s, 707s and 484s too! The 158/159s would have looked near identical to FGW's like EMT's did to SWT's.

 

[Techniquest]

Hitachi are meant to be a competent global train manufacturer. They should be understanding the environment they're being used in (it's not exactly a surprise!) and have also used a grade of aluminium that no other manufacturer has considered for that purpose. That's not a lesson that should be learned at great expense by taxpayers - it's the basics that should be being delivered by a competent manufacturer.

It's hard to see what could be worse. Poor specification, poor build quality, a poor contract, appalling value for money, and I haven't even got to the ride quality and interiors yet.

Ah well, we are where we are with it. Things clearly went wrong, now it's all about the recovery. Hopefully that will go well!

I can't comment about the contract and such like, but I do like the IETs and haven't had any ride quality issues, and yes the seats aren't the most comfortable but they're not too bad. When I think of worse trains, I think of Voyagers quite honestly! Although their seating is pretty comfortable, so yeah everything has its pros and cons.