DC 4369 on an SA/SD set at Newmarket, November 2006
ADL class MAXX train at Britomart
Passengers board a MAXX-branded Northern Express operated by Ritchies Transport on the Northern Busway.

MAXX was a public transport brand in the Auckland Region of New Zealand.[1] It was introduced in 2001.[2] It included a blue livery used on some buses (rapid transit only) and trains operated for Auckland Transport (AT). It was also used for public information and advertising branding.[1]

In July 2012, Auckland Transport (which replaced Auckland Regional Transport Authority in 2010) announced that it would phase out the brand, which was "weak and irrelevant" and had not achieved much public recognition, in favour of the AT Metro brand.[2]

Naming and criticism

At launch, Auckland Regional Transport Authority deemphasised the question of whether or not the name was an acronym:

"MAXX does stand for something. MAXX stands for comfortable and attractive facilities for commuters; fast, frequent and more reliable transport services; and comprehensive transport information. MAXX is not another acronym, but a symbol of quality."[3]

The brand was originally intended to refer to Metropolitan Auckland XXpressways, a brand developed by Auckland-based Sanders Design / Stephenson & Turner. It featured a dark blue livery and a 'pesky cartoon pūkeko called Maxx'. As described by Brian Rudman, the intention to brand the whole of Auckland's public transport fleet - arrived at after years of negotiation - was undermined by the insistence of operators like Stagecoach / Infratil to use their own livery, relegating the brand to an afterthought displayed much less prominently.[4]

Usage

Apart from some usage on trains and ferries, most buses in Auckland operated in their operators' livery and brand with small MAXX stickers near the front entrance, but Northern Express buses on the Northern Busway used the MAXX brand more prominently.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About MAXX". Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  2. 1 2 "'Weak' transport brands for axe as new logo beds in". The New Zealand Herald. 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Go to the MAXX!!". Auckland Regional Transport Authority press release, via Scoop.co.nz. 2 June 2005. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  4. ↑ Rudman, Brian (6 December 2006). "Maxx - bold and confident, but yesterday's brand". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
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