When One Bus Door Closes...Another will Open
Opportunity knocks for the transportation sector across Western Canada with last month’s announcement from Greyhound Bus Lines that all but one route (Vancouver to Seattle) will be cancelled by the end of October. Greyhound Canada will end all other routes in the Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia.
Greyhound Lines is the largest North American intercity bus company with 16,000 daily bus departures to 3,100 destinations. The announcement has sent surprise, confusion and outrage in some rural communities that will lose their primary passenger service.
According to CBC’s Greyhound coverage, “The company blames a 41 percent decline in ridership since 2010, persistent competition from subsidized national and inter-regional passenger transportation services, the growth of new low-cost airlines, regulatory constraints and the growth of car ownership.”
The Good News
The good news is that a huge opportunity is ready and waiting for established transportation players, expanding charter bus companies and innovative market entrants. “We’ve already seen some of our existing Zaui suppliers start expanding their service to pick up where Greyhound is leaving off,” says Zaui CTO Kory Fawcett:
- Tofino Bus Services to take over Greyhound routes on Vancouver Island
- Wilson’s looks at taking over some Greyhound bus routes
The Government, private sector and rural communities are rallying to ensure all Canadians have access to very necessary transportation services. The federal and provincial governments are reacting quickly, promising to expedite licensing for new businesses that alleviate the loss of transportation services.
Tofino Bus is expanding to include routes for more small communities and increase the frequency from Nanaimo to Victoria.[/caption]
How Zaui can Help
The team at Zaui Software has been creating software that powers transportation companies like Greyhound since 1999. The Zaui team is expertly trained to manage all types of transportation businesses, and Zaui is ready to help new businesses make the most of the opportunity from the departure of Greyhound in the market.
Zaui’s powerful route optimization capabilities, online booking engine, automated email and selling tools (including the Zaui Connect cross-selling network) and newly launched insight tools (also known as the KPI engine) may have provided context and technology that Greyhound needed to anticipate or prevent their exit from Western Canada.
Zaui System (at a Glance) for Transportation Companies
Zaui is a feature-rich reservation platform that can be used for transportation companies of all sizes. From small airport shuttle services to complex enterprise passenger services like Greyhound, Zaui can get your business online and create a powerful impact on operational efficiencies and sales growth.
We've covered several Zaui Transportation case studies that have seen massive success in tweaking their trip frequency, load capacity and online business models. We've also talked about some of the best ways to utilize the software in a transportation company. Here are a couple of extra resources that may help with your operation:
- Airporter UK - Soaring to Success: Transportation Secrets for 275% Growth
- How Transportation & Shuttle Companies can use Zaui POS while on the Go
Zaui Core
The Zaui Core platform is the control tower of your business. It is used to set up routes, assign pickups, control inventory, manage operations and assign your fleet, organize passenger manifests, offering both paper or paperless ticketing, and works seamlessly with your ability to automate and sell through an online booking engine.
Zaui Connect
Zaui Connect allows you to cross-sell 3rd party tours and attractions using barcodes from your connected local business relationships. Our fully integrated, simple, transportation model has been highly successful with transportation companies around the world. This includes intercity bus transportation like Greyhound for scheduled passenger service. The platform also you to grow your communities, creating a horizontal ecosystem of partners cross-selling each other's products and activities.
Zaui Mobile
Zaui is the industry leader in mobile and POS applications enabling drivers and station agents to check in guests, print and scan tickets, as well as handle walk-up passengers. This provides your team with the tools they need to maintain real-time inventory, and book more passengers on the fly.
Software for Transportation Growth
See the Features for Transport Operators
About Zaui Software
Zaui is a world-leading tourism reservation and management software specialized for tour, activity and transportation businesses. Based in Canada's outdoor adventure capital of Vancouver, British Columbia. Zaui provides a technology-driven platform to run every aspect of a tourism business. Major software features include: automating bookings, connecting suppliers to Online Travel Agents (Viator, Expedia, etc), connecting local tourism companies to cross-sell products with real-time inventory, POS and mobile applications and real-time business analytics. Zaui is the only tourism software that strengthens the local tourism economy connecting suppliers through geographical partnerships.
With Zaui I/O, over 25 automated OTA selling channels have been established. Qualified re-sellers can apply to become part of the Zaui Distribution Network free of charge. In the Zaui Connect Community, there are infinite cross-selling channels between local tourism companies.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. Zaui’s pricing is fully pay-as-you-go. You aren’t locked into any long-term contract. In fact, leading platforms emphasize this flexibility. Similarly, Zaui lets you start and stop anytime. You can change or cancel your plan freely, so you only pay for what you use.
Absolutely not. Zaui’s pricing is 100% transparent. We disclose all fees up front with no surprise add-ons or “sneak-in” charges. In fact, Zaui’s plans include all core features “without additional fees”. Industry experts note that hidden fees undermine trust so we avoid them entirely. All costs are clearly outlined in our pricing, and there are no extra setup charges or undisclosed surcharges at checkout.
Zaui integrates with major payment gateways (e.g. Stripe) so you only pay standard credit-card processing rates (roughly 1.9%+$0.30/transaction) and we don’t mark them up. Only the published platform commission is added on bookings. You also have full control over who pays the commission, we let you decide whether to absorb booking fees or pass them on to customers. In short, you’ll only pay the transparent booking commission and normal gateway fees, nothing extra.
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Of course. Zaui’s plans are fully flexible. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time to match your needs, without penalties. You can move to a higher tier or back down easily, and your billing adjusts automatically.
No. Zaui does not charge its commission on offline/manual bookings. “No fees on offline bookings” You only pay the commission when a booking is processed online through our system. Manual reservations (or bookings from partner channels we set up for you) incur no extra platform fee. (30% or less)
All of Zaui’s core features are included in your plan at no extra charge. We believe in value and transparency: Zaui provides over 15 advanced features (Google Things to do, reporting tools, marketing tools, reports, etc.) at no additional cost. Many competitors charge extra or require higher plans for the same features, but with Zaui you get the full suite of tools in one package. Any optional add-ons (if any) will always be clearly listed and optional there are no surprise paid upgrades for standard features.
Each Zaui plan is designed for clarity and fairness, following industry best practices. You can trust that our pricing is transparent and flexible, with the support you need built in.
Extra accounts- unlimited agents, resellers, user
