Mr Alan Westwell, who has had extensive experience of running bus companies in Britain, was speaking yesterday at a ceremony to mark the inauguration of a 10point "Customer Focus 2000" campaign.
Among the measures being proposed is that all "quality bus corridors" on which buses have full priority should be marked out by red-coloured tarmacadam as well as the continuous white lines already in use.
Mr Westwell said Dublin Bus had been "too operationally-driven" in the past, but was now becoming "market-led" and more aware of the needs of its customers - the 500,000 people using its buses daily.
"We want to show that we value them and can give them a service," he declared. One of the innovations would be the installation, initially on route 25A, of "real-time information" and ticket machines at bus stops. He said staff were responding well to programmes aimed at ensuring "greater customer awareness".
Mr Westwell said that Dublin Bus - which now receives no State subsidy - is investing £12 million a year in replacing its fleet, including new "super low-floor" buses accessible to disabled people.
He conceded that improving the quality of bus services was "difficult in today's traffic conditions", but said it should improve significantly with the implementation of more bus corridors on main routes into the city.
Some examples of the new "branded" services - including the 46A, now renamed the "Stillorgan Flyer" - were on view at the Garda golf club in Westmanstown, near Lucan, the scene of yesterday's ceremony. The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, said she "fully approved" of the idea of "putting the customer first".