Bootstrapping abroad

In England both the Oxford tube and the oxford espress bus services between London and Oxford have free internet access. They even have plugs for your computer so it is definitely worth going by bus instead of by train.

Stagecoach Group, a leading international transportation group is competing with the oxford bus company on the London-Oxford services. As a first time traveler this is all quite confusing: Stagecoach markets services for the traject under its "Oxford tube" brand. The oxford bus company on the other hand markets its services as "oxford espress". At Victoria Station Stagecoach tickets for the Oxford tube are sold in a shop with the megabus.com brand. Tickets of the oxford bus company for the oxford espress are sold in a ticketing office from National Express. National Express is an umbrellar for a range of local bus and coach companies throughout the UK...

From what I understood the following happened: Oxford tube started marketing a "super luxury express coach service" with amongst others free power sockets and breakfast (between 5h40 and 7 am). Oxford bus company in turn also upgraded their coach park and started marketing their coaches on the route under a distinctive higher quality brand. Recently now Oxford tube started offering free WIFI. Oxford bus company followed suit and started installing WIFI on their coaches.

These investments happened however without a proper accompanying information campaign. On the back of the folders for the oxford espress customers are encouraged to ask the staff for further information. Neither the people at the ticketing office of National Express nor the bus drivers were informed which coaches had WIFI enabled. Both the website of the Oxford tube and of the oxford espress are marketing their services as extra comfortable but until today neither mention the WIFI services.

This demonstrates how both companies are in a branding war with a similar differentiation strategy. The Oxford tube brand has more appeal amongst young people and probably gained some market share for internet sales and passes by being the first mover into WIFI services. However since there is little distinction between the quality of both services most people probably will keep on treating both bus companies as vendors and choose whatever bus arrives next.

Makes me wonder if oxford bus company could have chosen a better differentiation strategy as an answer to Stagecoaches initiative.