nakedbus.com was a provider of low-cost long-distance bus (coachline) transport services around New Zealand. It used concepts such as
yield management
Yield management (YM) is a variable pricing strategy, based on understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize revenue or profits from a fixed, time-limited resource (such as airline seats, hotel room reservat ...
and
no-frills
A no-frills or no frills service or product is one for which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the price low. The term " frills" originally refers to a style of fabric decoration. Something offered to customers for no additional ...
to provide low
fares.
The company is so-named because "we have stripped out the costs that you don’t need."
[About](_blank)
on nakedbus.com website, retrieved 30 March 2009 It is based on British online transport models such as
EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlin ...
and
megabus.
Established in October 2006 with services out of
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
around the
North Island
The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
,
nakedbus.com expanded to the
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
in February 2007.
The business was earlier owned by Hamish Nuttall and Pavlovich Services,
and in May 2015 was taken over by
ManaBus.com, part of Souter Holdings, owned by
Brian Souter
Sir Brian Souter (born 5 May 1954) is a Scottish businessman. With his sister, Ann Gloag, he founded the Stagecoach Group of bus and rail operators. He also founded the bus and coach operator Megabus, the train operating company South West Tra ...
. In August 2015 both companies became part of Souter's
InMotion Group of New Zealand bus and ferry companies.
ManaBus and Naked Bus ceased operation on 15 July 2018, with the bus fleets being sold to
Ritchies Transport Holdings, part owner of rival coach company
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
.
Marketing techniques
The company provided at least one headline-grabbing NZ$1.00 fare on each service, while "the average fare is equal to 50 percent of the prevailing market fares and all fares beat standard market adult prices by at least 25 percent"
[The Story of Nakedbus.com](_blank)
Article reprinted from NZ Business magazine on a Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
website, retrieved 30 March 2009
Nakedbus.com reduced
overheads
In business, an overhead or overhead expense is an ongoing expense of operating a business. Overheads are the expenditure which cannot be conveniently traced to or identified with any particular revenue unit, unlike operating expenses such as raw m ...
by encouraging online bookings but after its purchase by ManaBus.com, customers were able to contact the customer service team by email, Facebook Messenger or phone.
Lost property
A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve lost articles that may have been found by others. Freq ...
enquiries were dealt with online using a contact form. "99%" of customers do not need to contact the company by phone.
[Why does nakedbus.com have an 0900 number?](_blank)
on nakedbus.com website, retrieved 30 March 2009 Nakedbus does not have terminals.
Operations
nakedbus.com uses transport partners to provide transport throughout New Zealand.
*
ManaBus.com: Long distance, city-to-city travel throughout the North Island
* Tairua: Local transport servicing the Coromandel
*
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
: Local connection options in the North and long distance, city-to-city travel in the South Island
Naked Passport
nakedbus.com offers a 'travel passport' for NZ bus travel. Customers can purchase a Naked Passport with 3, 5, 10, or 20 trips on it and then choose individual bus journeys through New Zealand.
Nakedsleep.com
In December 2010 Nakedbus.com launched Nakedsleep.com, a website selling beds and rooms in backpacker hostels around New Zealand.
Nakedsleep.com website
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakedbus.Com
Bus companies of New Zealand