Zest by Fruit Bowl Co
Passenger publicity in days, not weeks
Every service change means new timetables, maps and stop displays. Zest turns the timetable data you already publish into beautiful, accurate publicity, ready for print and the web.
Timetables · Route maps · Network maps · Roadside
Publicity automation
prettier. quicker. cheaper.
Every service change means new timetables, maps and stop displays. Done by hand, that’s weeks of work and a big bill, so publicity falls behind and passengers lose out.
Zest changes that. It turns the timetable data you already publish into beautiful, accurate publicity, ready for print and the web.
why we built it
After 15 years of designing passenger publicity, we were tired of repeating the same fiddly tasks every time a timetable changed.
Zest does that repetitive work automatically, so our designers can spend their time on the creative work that really makes a difference.
The range
one fruit for every job
Each Zest product does one job well, and they all share the same data, so every map, leaflet and stop display matches.
Clear, beautiful network, route, town centre and fare zone maps, drawn straight from your timetable data, in your brand.
Clear, easy-to-read timetable leaflets and booklets, for a single route or your whole network, in print and online.
Stop timetables, route and destination finders, stop flags and name plates that keep every stop accurate and on brand.
Coming soon
Tickets and passes designed in your brand, kept in step with your fares.
Coming soon
Keep your data accurate, use it in new ways and show you’re running what you registered.
Coming soon
Beautiful brochures for your tours and holidays, built from your programme of departures.
How it works
a tried & tested process: how Zest works
Every Zest product follows the same simple process.
01
Send us your data
BODS, TransXChange, GTFS or your service registrations. Support for rail data is on its way.
02
We set you up
We build your templates in your brand, and our designers make sure every one works. This first set-up takes a few weeks.
03
Zest does the heavy lifting
It builds your artwork straight from the data, while automated tests check that every time and stop is valid and correct.
04
You get your files
Print-ready PDFs and web-ready files, ready to go, available to download from our dashboard.
05
Service change? No problem
Send us the new data, and your updates come back in days or even hours, not weeks.
Every job is booked in and managed by our team, so you always have a real person to talk to.
Why Zest
why choose Zest?
Faster
Updates in days or hours, not weeks.
Affordable
A fraction of the cost of bespoke design for every change.
Accurate
Built straight from your data, with automated tests checking every time and stop.
Consistent
Every map, leaflet and stop display matches, and stays on brand.
Accessible
Clear, easy-to-read designs that work for every passenger.
Orange & Lime
your timetables & maps, online too
More journeys are planned on a phone than on paper.
Zest online puts your timetables and maps on your own website, from the same data, so print and web always match.
- Interactive HTML timetables from Lime
- Interactive, clickable and zoomable web maps from Zest Orange
- Downloadable PDF timetables for phones and home printing
- The Zest API, so your developers can use your data wherever they need it
Need a new website too? Our Pearfect websites for bus and coach operators work hand in hand with Zest, giving you digital timetables with real-time tracking.
Get started
who is Zest for?
Zest is for anyone who keeps passengers informed and updated:
- Independent bus and coach operators
- Marketing and network teams in larger groups
- Local authority passenger information, BSIP and Enhanced Partnership teams
three easy steps
- Tell us what you need
- We look at your data and brand, then send you a quote
- We set you up, and your first artwork follows
Pricing
how much does it cost?
A one-off set-up fee gets you started, covering your system set-up and templates.
After that, you buy credits at just 10p each, with discounts for bulk buys. Credits are used each time a file is created or updated.
For example:
- Downloadable timetable: 20+ credits
- Print-ready timetable leaflet: 100+ credits
- Town centre map: 750+ credits
- Network map: a few thousand credits
Credit usage varies depending on the complexity of the file(s) being generated; credit examples above are representative and may change.
built by specialists
Zest comes from Fruit Bowl Co. For 15 years we’ve designed passenger publicity for operators and councils, including Go-Ahead, First, Norfolk County Council and Transport Made Simple.
doing it yourself
Self-service options for some parts of Lime (timetables) and Orange (maps) are coming in early 2027, so you can make simple changes whenever you like, saving you money.
need something bespoke?
Our designers still create bespoke maps, liveries, campaigns and more.
Euro Bus Expo 2026
come and see Zest at Euro Bus Expo
NEC Birmingham, 3 to 5 November 2026. Find us on the Fruit Bowl Co stand, stand 262. Plan your visit.
Zest is in the Innovation Challenge: vote for us at the voting gallery, stand 476, until 3pm on Wednesday 4 November.
let’s get the ball rolling
Tell us what you need. We’ll look at your data and brand, then send you a quote.