Sqills to power multi-operator bus network organisation NOR-WAY
Norwegian multi-operator network organisation NOR-WAY Bussekspress has selected S3 Passenger to power their bus network in terms of inventory management, seat reservation, pricing, and ticket distribution.
With 12 bus routes covering Southern Norway, the NOR-WAY network offers passengers in Norway a convenient, sustainable, affordable and reliable way to travel.
NOR-WAY consists of seven independent bus operators, which are co-owners of NOR-WAY Bussekspress AS. The NOR-WAY brand operates and distributes a large network of bus routes in Southern Norway covering cities, villages, mountain areas and tourist destinations with Oslo, Bergen, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Lillehammer, Fagernes, Haugesund, Førde, Trysil being important hubs.
An immediate fit
Preliminary talks between NOR-WAY Bussekspress and Sqills immediately made it clear that S3 Passenger was a perfect fit for what the network of bus operators were looking for. The requirements presented by the NOR-WAY organisation and its member operators can be fulfilled by S3 Passenger entirely “out-of-the box”.
As a complete Software as a Service solution, S3 Passenger allows for future growth while offering the cost efficiency of running this multi-operator network in a single instance of S3 Passenger. Sqills and NOR-WAY expect the implementation to be completed in less than six months, which demonstrates the maturity of S3 Passenger.
Powering multi-operator network organisations
While the independent bus operators partner together, they also have their own independent networks and execute their own commercial strategy under a broader cooperative framework. Within S3 Passenger, several carriers within one ecosystem can benefit from precisely this compromise between autonomy and independence on the one hand, and collaboration on the other. All of this made S3 Passenger the right choice for what NOR-WAY wants to achieve in the future.
NOR-WAY Bussekspress has ambitions to grow and provide further improvements in the overall passenger experience in the future. This means that choosing the most future-proof solution simply makes sense. The fact that Sqills has experience with multi-operator networks, such as with RDG in the United Kingdom, was another important factor in making our decision.
After a number of successful projects in Scandinavia we are excited to welcome NOR-WAY Bussekspress as a multi-operator collaboration to the S3 Passenger community.
Sqills Chief Product Officer, Johan Nieuwerth, said of the new partnership: "The journey is equally enjoyable as the destination - this is even more true in the beautiful scenery of Norway. After a number of successful projects in Scandinavia we are excited to welcome NOR-WAY Bussekspress as a multi-operator collaboration to the S3 Passenger community. While nature itself is entirely responsible for the splendid views of mountains, forests and fjords, NOR-WAY and Sqills will ensure the rest of the trip planning and purchase process goes smoothly. We are proud to make S3 Passenger part of that improved overall travel experience for NOR-WAY passengers".