Sameness is Not the Same as Consistency
And neither are the same as Predictability - A post about new Transport Brands
We’re entering the biggest era of transport brand-building in a generation.
In the past couple of years alone, we’ve had Great British Railways announced, the Bee Network launched, and now the Weaver Network making its debut. And more are coming: city regions, devolved administrations and national governments are all building new public-facing transport brands, many for the first time.
That’s a huge opportunity.
But it’s also a moment of risk: because there’s a very common misunderstanding at the heart of how people think about brands in public services.
It usually starts with a well-meaning comment like this:
“We want to be consistent like McDonald’s.”
Which sounds reasonable - until you think about what McDonald’s actually is.
The McDonald’s Misunderstanding
McDonald’s works because sameness is the product.
Whether you're in Manchester or Madrid, you know the fries will taste the same, the menu will follow the same structure, the layout will be familiar. If a McDonald’s wasn’t the same, it would be failing at what it sets out to be.
That sameness is so core to their brand identity that the Economist newspaper has published The Big Mac Index every year since 1986 as a way of measuring currency fluctuations. There are so few products which are literally identical across time and place but a Big Mac is one. So you can use a Big Mac as the global yardstick for purchasing power.
While McDonalds consistently offer sameness as the core of their product, that doesn’t mean that sameness is necessary for consistency.
Transport is integrated into peoples’ lives across multiple places.
Sameness would be a terrible product for a transport brand to offer.
The problem we have is that “predictability”, “consistency” and “sameness” are more or less interchangeable terms when talking about McDonalds. But they’re not for most other firms. So let’s break down three concepts people often confuse.
What We Actually Mean
Predictability - “I know what will happen.”
Predictability is essential in transport. Will the train arrive? Will the app work?
Predictability is about reliability, clarity and control. It reduces anxiety by ensuring that people know what’s going to happen.
Consistency - “I know what you stand for.”
This is tone, values, behaviours and service culture. You don’t need the same experience across every service but there needs to be a familiarity to the experience time after time.
It might be that the best solution for frictionless ticketing is barcode in one place, contactless in another and a conductor in a third but GBR might - for example - offer a consistently frictionless experience.
Consistency builds trust.
Sameness - “Everything looks and feels the same.”
This works if you’re serving burgers and sameness is your key attribute. But in transport - and in most civic services - it’s inappropriate. Which train would work well on Thameslink and CrossCountry?
Sameness flattens identity and disconnects people from place. That’s the point of McDonald’s. It’s not the point of transport.
Sameness works for some brands but not most
IKEA
Walk into an IKEA in Croydon or Copenhagen, and the layout, experience and even the meatballs will be familiar. That’s the point. It’s meant to be interchangeable. Sameness here isn’t a by-product - it’s the value proposition.
Young’s Pubs
You know what you’re going to get: good beer, decent food, warm service. But no two Young’s pubs look the same. They inhabit different buildings, reflect local histories and embrace their quirks.
There are consistent features that are core to the brands (real ale, friendly staff) but they are proudly not the same.
Tesco
At first glance, Tesco might look like the embodiment of corporate sameness. But it’s not.
Firstly, there’s the formats: Tesco Extra, Metro, Express and Superstores all offer different formats with different combinations of goods and experiences to suit defined markets.
Then within that, there are the various own-brand products that are clearly segmented: Value, Core, Finest, Plant Chef.
Moreover, each store offers a different product range based on its local demographics and economy.
The experience of a shopper in the Tesco Express in Chelsea who only buys Finest is very different to the experience of the Tesco Extra in Dudley who relies on Value.
But throughout, there’s consistency: in tone, in offer, in trust. You know what Tesco means, even when the format shifts.
What Transport Can Learn
Transport doesn’t live on a shelf. Its most important characteristic is that it… moves.
That means it appears in different cities, places and in many different peoples’ lives. As it does so, it needs to be different to reflect those different cities, landscapes and peoples’ lives. The best transport brands in the world understand that predictability and consistency are non-negotiable but sameness is optional and often counterproductive.
Here are four that get it right:
Me with the ultimate Swiss Railway Clock; the giant version outside SBB headquarters. There’s one on every station
Swiss Travel System
OK, it won’t surprise any regular readers that I’m banging on about Switzerland again. Here are previous examples of this tendency on buses, trains and funding.
But it’s important, as Switzerland really does get this right.
The Swiss rail network is highly predictable, consistent where it matters and has tightly defined elements of sameness.
The big symbol of sameness is the clock, which is identical at every station from a request halt in the mountains to Zurich’s monster Hauptbahnhof.
There is a consistency to the experience: stations are highly integrated with other modes, trains are comfortable and have sufficient capacity, reservations aren’t necessary, first class is available.
But it’s absolutely not samey. There are dozens of different operators with different services. A Südostbahn train between Chur and Zurich has vending machines in standard class and coat hangers in first class. An SBB train on the same route doesn’t. But SBB intercity trains do have a restaurant car. This is made predictable by a super-simple app, which is really clear about what’s available on each train. Want a playground? Choose a train with one. Want a business zone with desks? Choose that. The crucial thing is that if it’s promised, it will happen. With the timetable being the ultimate representation of that. The trains run on time. Always.
Japan Railways
I’ve not been to Japan, so you may know better, but my understanding is that different regional companies (JR East, JR West, Kyushu...) run trains that look and feel different - sometimes charmingly so but with the consistency being the same punctuality, cleanliness, etiquette and intuitive signage.
The experience reflects that you’re in different places (with, for example, local Bento boxes) but a consistent brand promise travels with you.
Stockholm’s SL
A network I do know is Stockholm’s, and it really exemplifies the way in which consistency doesn’t need to mean the same.
One brand unites metro, bus, tram and ferry. The visual identity is consistent, and the integration is excellent.
But every station is unique: many with incredible public art, architectural flourishes and local colour.
Stockholm Metro stations are consistent - but they really aren’t the same!
SL builds civic pride through variety not despite it.
Transport for London
And that brings us to the network I obviously know best.
TfL’s a great example of where consistency doesn’t need to mean samey.
So, what’s the same:
The roundel
The typeface
What’s consistent:
Highly integrated
How you pay (but not the fares themselves, which are highly variable)
Certain features like moquette seating
Neither are the same as the Victoria line, but there’s a consistency
What’s predictable:
The journey times (or they should be! And when they’re not, it’s a failure)
The features of the mode (the DLR has a different brand identity from the Tram, which helps explain the differences between them. It’s OK that DLR trains are very different from trams because they’re different products with different identities - but consistently delivered)
So If You're Building a new Transport Brand...
Ask yourself three questions:
What needs to be predictable, so customers feel confident and in control?
What needs to be consistent, so they know what we stand for?
Are we avoiding sameness, so the network reflects place, people and pride?
Next time someone says:
“Let’s be like McDonald’s,”
Say, “Yes! We will deliver our brand purpose with exactly the same consistency that they deliver theirs. Now what is it?…”
How Can I Help You?
I help organisations turn frontline insight into customer experience.
That means surfacing what your teams already know, acting on it quickly, and building a culture where customer pain points get solved — not just measured.
If that sounds useful, let’s chat.
