Shared Bus service

Shared Bus Service

A proposal to

Fleet Derivatives Ltd

By
Shared Services Consults

1
Shared Bus service

Executive Summary
Transportation is an essential part of human activity, and in many ways form the basis of all socio-
economic interactions. Indeed, no two locations will interact effectively without a viable means of
movement. In many developing countries, inadequate transport facilities are often the norm rather
than the exception.

Lagos is the most populous urban settlement in Nigeria with an estimated 17million inhabitant. It is
currently the second most populous city in Africa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest
growing city in Africa (7th fastest in the world). Transportation is definitely a challenge in a city of
this size. While fully intermodal means of transport within Lagos are still in development stages, the
state is still heavily dependent on Road transport.

Several Public and private initiatives have sprung up in recent times to fulfil the need for efficient,
safe and comfortable road transportation within the metropolis. Some of these are initiatives are
NURTW Cooperative and LAGBUS assisted by the Lagos state government and several other modern
taxi operators including E-Taxi, Orange Cabs, C-Trans Global, I-Trans, and Red Cabs.

LAMATA estimates that there are about 75,000 commercial buses in Lagos. However there still
exists the need for transport solutions designed for the specific circumstances of the commuters in
Lagos. This offers a wonderful opportunity for innovative and strategic transportation solutions
which are specifically designed to meet the needs of certain market segments within the Lagos
metropolis.

Shared Bus is an innovative, strategic and efficient transportation service, designed to provide
convenient and affordable transport for individuals who need to commute between their homes and
the work place. It has been designed to meet specific needs which other existing modes of transport
and service providers have failed to meet, with three key considerations in focus: Convenience,
Affordability and Safety.

2
Shared Bus service

The Problem...............
A lot of workers and business people need to get from their homes to their places of business in a
convenient, affordable and safe manner. Some organizations have provided their employees with
company cars and staff buses to assist their employees in getting to and leaving work with relative
ease. However a lot of people are not favoured by these initiatives. Staff buses are often times
insufficient, not conveniently routed or not available all together for the individual that need to
commute between their homes and offices.

There is also a serious problem of traffic congestion on major roads in Lagos such as Ikorodu Road
and Third Mainland Bridge, which has remained endemic despite efforts of the Lagos State
Government to curb it.

The other alternatives which are public transportation, modern and orthodox taxi services etc are
often times not completely ideal for some individuals. They are either to inconvenient, indecent and
unsafe for the public modes or outrageously expensive and unavailable when needed for the taxi
services.

The Solution................
Shared bus will fill the void which other conventional modes of road transport have not catered
for. Utilizing vehicles provided by individuals, Transport and vehicle rental service providers, we
intend to sell this service to identified individuals and corporate bodies in the Lagos area.

How to we intend to do this?

Provide reliable, convenient and affordable transport from home to work and back for our
subscribed customers.
Personalize our services, by NOT being just another mass transit or taxi service provider.
Provide efficient and qualitative customer care services to our customers.
Utilize properly planned schedules and routes which will meet the needs of our customers.
Offer an easy to access ticketing and payment system for our services.
Provide top notch, comfortable and fully air-conditioned vehicles for our services.
Continually monitor our performance and implement process improvement strategies to ensure
that we continually exceed expectations in service delivery.

We intend to approach the work commute business differently, using innovative strategies to
provide services to customers desperately in need of well thought out, tailor made service at an
affordable cost.

3
Shared Bus service

Our Target Customers..........

For the pilot phase, we are focusing on people commuting from the Mainland (Magodo Estate) to
Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lagos Island.

Corporate individuals.
Reputable business people.
Employees working late at major shopping malls and eateries on the island.
Individuals whom require a customized transport solution.

Our Strategy........
In approaching our potential customers we will emphasis on offering a personalized service which is
convenient, comfortable, reliable and affordable while offering great value. We shall utilize internet,
mobile (voice and sms) and face to face interaction for communication with our customers.

Our key strategies shall be....

Focus on individuals living within and around major estates in Lagos, who will be commuting to
work on the Island. The choice of estates is for security and strategic reasons. These individual
may not want to drive to work every day or do not have vehicles or want a more conducive
transportation option.
Early pick up from designated points within our focal areas, these would ideally be within 5
minutes walking distance from the customers home.
Design time schedules and routes which shall be adhered to. This ensures that the customers
arrive and depart from work on time.
We shall have several pick up times in the mornings for really early risers(5:30am or 6am) and
other who resume a bit later (8:30 am or 9am). We shall employ a similar schedule for people
coming back home from work in the evening (6pm and 9pm).
Offer very competitive pricing for our services.
A weekly or monthly payment/ ticketing scheme to allow flexibility and convenience. This will
also ensure re-current income streams.
Developing new business opportunities which are innovative and structured to provide required
services while growing revenues. This will differentiate and position the service ahead of other
providers.

4
Shared Bus service

Who is the Competition...........?

Our major competitors are
Motor Bike (Okada)
Public Transport (Damfo, Molue)
BRT
Taxis (Yellow and black cab)
Modern Taxis and car rental services.

In identifying our competition, we carried out a SWOT analysis on their strengths and weakness, to
identify opportunities to capitalize on.

Service Providers Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities

Okada Faster for short Unsafe, High risk and Provide a secure means
distances and light prone to accidents of transport
traffic
Public Transport Popular, cheap, Uncomfortable, Offer comfortable
multiple routes, security and safety vehicles and a more
availability secure and safe
environment.
BRT Dedicated lane, beats Routes not always Provide convenient routes
traffic within BRT lane convenient, not so and pickups close to
corridor comfortable especially home, office or nearest
during rush hour landmarks.
Taxis Accessible Expensive Offer services at reduced
rates.
Modern Classy, Luxurious, very More expensive, Offer similar quality at
Taxis/Rental comfortable hourly charges lower rates.

Marketing strategy, pricing and revenue projections......

The market is large enough for a player who can offer quality services at the right prices.
With the number of workers whose places of work or business are on the Island, there is a huge
opportunity. The current gap of comfortable transport at affordable prices offers Shared bus a
strategic advantage in the market.

Shared Bus plans to use the following selling strategies

Direct marketing
Email and web marketing campaigns
Fliers and hand bills
Word of mouth selling

These channels are appropriate because of time to market, reduced capital requirements and fast
access to the service via established channels.

Pricing and payments......

Shared Bus is offering its services based on weekly, monthly and quarterly payments plans.
N5, 000 weekly.
N20, 000 monthly.
N50, 000 per quarter (17% Discount less monthly payments)

5
Shared Bus service

Travel Tickets shall be given to paying customers valid for the various payments periods highlighted
above.
We shall also introduce some pricing flexibility for certain individuals or based on other market
forces to ensure competitiveness.

Revenue Projection.....
Below is a 6 months revenue projection for one 14 passenger Bus servicing 20 constant customers @
a rate N20,000 each per month.

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb

Gross revenue N 400,000 N 400,000 N 400,000 N 400,000 N 400,000 N 400,000
Fuel N 40,000 N 40,000 N 40,000 N 40,000 N 40,000 N 40,000
Drivers Salary N 28,000 N 28,000 N 28,000 N 28,000 N 28,000 N 28,000
Maintenance N 10,000 N 10,000 N 10,000 N 10,000 N 10,000 N 10,000
Net income(Gross
revenue-Expenses) N 322,000 N 322,000 N 322,000 N 322,000 N 322,000 N 322,000

Management roles and responsibilities............

The Shared bus service shall come into being by a collaborative effort between Fleet derivatives and
Business partners ( Tunde and Co). Below is a matrix of the responsibilities of each party.
Transport/Rental Service Shared Bus
Providers
Provision of vehicles ×
(Insurance, tracking, licensing)
Drivers ×
Maintenance of vehicle ×
Fueling ×
Marketing and strategy ×
Management ×
Planning ×
Kindly note, that all operational expenses shall be deducted from the Gross income.

What would be the benefits....?

Revenue generation.
New business development.
Pioneering a new transportation model.
Capture a specific market segment.
Delivery of a much needed services.
Establish market presence, brand and business awareness.
Open up other business prospects.