Warrington’s Own Buses; A remarkable digital transformation continues

When you think of Warrington’s bus company now — its brand new £10 million depot on Dallam Lane and its recently unveiled Volvo BZL electric buses — it’s easy to forget how much has changed under Managing Director Ben Wakerley.

But it wasn’t always like this. Rewind six years and you’ll see how far the business has come. From a brand update in 2018 to being one of the first bus companies in the UK to publish bus fare information in its customer app in early 2024. Warrington’s digital transformation, in partnership with Passenger, has been an important element in revitalising how its customers interact with it.

When Ben took over at Network Warrington in 2017, he took on a bus business that needed modernisation. As the town’s municipal bus company, he quickly adopted “Warrington’s Own Buses.” But it wasn’t just the organisation’s name that needed a reboot. Ben had inherited ageing technology, too, and could see that the industry was moving on quickly. The business needed suppliers who were prepared to work with them to build for the future.

Enter Passenger. “I was put in touch with Ben by Ray Stenning, who I’d worked closely with. Ray shared that he thought Ben would be a force for significant change at Warrington. Looking at what he’s achieved since Ray was absolutely right,” comments Tom Quay, Passenger’s founder. “When I spoke to Ben, he told me that he wanted Warrington to deliver a better online presence, including an app for tickets, but he wanted to introduce changes gradually”, he continues.

In 2018, Warrington took its first digital transformation step with Passenger by rolling out its Passenger App, which was focused purely on mobile ticketing. When the time came for Warrington to upgrade its ticket machines, Passenger enabled its QR scanning capability and supported driver training. The change didn’t require an app update, making it simple for customers to adapt quickly. This flexibility meant customers didn’t have to download and learn a new app simply because an ETM supplier had changed.

As Warrington went from strength to strength, Passenger’s Customer Success team supported the business to roll out more of Passenger’s capabilities. A brand new website went live in 2021, alongside a major update to its ‘Touch & Go’ branded Passenger App to include journey planning and real-time departure boards, what Passenger now refers to as its ‘Cities’ capability.

In February 2024, Warrington was a launch partner for Passenger’s new fares capability, which helps riders find out how much their journey will cost before catching the bus — a UK first for bus company apps.

Ben comments, “Cost pressures are real in the industry. But strong relationships with suppliers who work hard to deliver what we need to build our customers’ trust in our services are so important. Building that trust takes time, and getting that right takes patience and determination. Consistency is so important, as is reliability and innovation. Passenger helps us to be all of those things. We’re delighted to continue raising the bar with them over the next few years.”

Warrington has made significant progress on its digital transformation journey. It has done that by working with its key suppliers to break down challenges into manageable phases over a number of years. Under Ben’s leadership, his vision has been pragmatically dissected into workable projects.

Chris Desborough, Customer Success Manager at Passenger, adds, “We’ve achieved so much in six years. I’m looking forward to the next six years and what that might bring. Strong foundations are in place, and we’ll continue working hard to delight new and existing customers as more people look for alternative ways to get around.”

Image: Chris Desborough, Customer Success Manager (Passenger), Ben Wakerley, Managing Director (Warrington’s Own Buses), Tom Quay, CEO (Passenger)