UK Bus Awards: The Big Book of Big Winners 2019 by Passenger Transport Publishing Ltd

THE BIG BOOK OF BIG WINNERS 2019 PASSENGER

TRANSPORT

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WELCOME

Welcome to The Big Book of Big Winners 2019 which will take you back to memories of another afternoon at Troxy, East London for the UK Bus Awards to recognise, reward and inspire as we shone a spot light on everything which is good and great about the bus industry

■ Alzheimer’s Society 0300 222 1122 www.alzheimers.org.uk

■ Alzheimer’s Scotland 0808 808 3000 www.alzscot.org

would like to tell you about a true story involving two rival airlines. The scene is a regional airport in France in February a few years ago. It is the early evening and after a couple of hours of snow, there is a white carpet, heavily delayed flights and a degree of chaos. By 10 pm deicing of the aircraft starts with Airline A’s plane. It is completed at which point the crew of this plane announce that they are out of hours and everyone will have to leave the plane. There are two immediate consequences. One is that it is now too late to arrange hotels and, anyway, that is not in Airline A’s DNA, so the passengers will be stuck in the terminal building overnight. The other is that the other four aircraft have lost a further 20 minutes on the ground whilst the deicing has been taking place on Airline A’s plane. By contrast, on Airline B, the crew are over their agreed hours but under the legal limits so are going to carry on and get us all back to Luton. They have also provided a running commentary on what has been happening on the other plane. An extreme example, but it speaks volumes for the different cultures of two businesses in the same market, but with people working for them who appear to be motivated entirely differently to go the extra mile… or not. Staging the UK Bus Awards each year involves judging and mystery shopping companies, depots and drivers. This gives us an insight into the bus industry and how capable operators would be of looking after their customers in situations like my airline example. Let me tell you more. Behind the detail of many entries, we see either a drive to centralise versus devolving everything down to local level as far as

possible. We see the active recruitment of people fresh to the industry bringing new energy versus putting the effort into developing in-house talent and building on experience. We also see the difference between those who have put big effort in running transformational programmes with an effort to build brands based on common approaches and cherry-picking best practice versus those who adopt a more tailored, localised approach. There is no magical right answer and, indeed, the enthusiasm and commitment further down the organisational tree to some of these particular strategies is impressive. But I think my conclusion would be that those businesses which have tried to blend these approaches are more likely to be the award winners at the UK Bus Awards. And then there is the whole question of how far you push delivering a great service at the minimum of cost and where the tipping point is where the people on the ground are spread so thinly, that it becomes impossible to deliver this great service. I was very struck by the early reaction of Andrew Haines following his appointment as Chief Executive of NetworkRail. He found an organisation which was geared up for managing projects but where the operational skills behind the everyday delivery of the railway network had been diluted and diminished. Lessons for us? All of this partly explains why we wanted to get under the skin of what makes companies tick by introducing the Cultural Change Award this year. It was aimed at providing a showcase for all the work being done in training and development, diversity, apprenticeships, safety and customer care - in short, anything which tries to shift the needle of attitudes and outlooks. This is a really big challenge for a company to pull off, but we received a very, very strong field of entries which speaks volumes for how hard the industry is trying to move on. But what is also clear from is that, in spite of all the pressures and distractions, there is a huge amount which is being delivered by bus companies across the country and that also comes shining through the entries. Finally, a few comments about matters closer to home. We have hung onto the changes we introduced last year all of which were well received. We have also continued the partnership with The Alzheimers Society and Alzheimers Scotland as our charities for 2019. You showed extraordinary generosity last year which, sadly, points to the number of us who have families with members affected by dementia – and I am sure we will have seen this flood of donations being repeated. May I end by hoping that you enjoyed this year’s event and find the 2019 edition of The Big Book of Big Winners a suitable reminder of an afternoon of recognition, reward and inspiration.

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Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud to be the industry leaders in the 2019 UK Bus Awards.

UK BUS AWARDS 2019

Congratulations to all of our employees recognised in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s awards:

GOLD

SILVER

Top Shire Operator

UK Bus Operator of the Year

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire

Top National Bus Depot

Top Shire Operator

Stagecoach East Scotland, Blairgowrie depot

Stagecoach East Scotland

Marketing Initiative of the Year

Stagecoach South, Guildford Park & Ride electric buses

Stagecoach Yorkshire and Partners, Stimulating senior bus travel Young Manager of the Year

Stagecoach Manchester, Jack Abbott

Environment

London Bus Garage of the Year

Stagecoach London, Romford Engineer of the Year

Stagecoach Manchester, Jack Abbott

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BRONZE Sustained Marketing Excellence

Express City Connect Top City Operator

Stagecoach Manchester Top National Bus Driver: the Chris Moyes Memorial Award

Stagecoach West, Gurnam Singh Cultural Change

Stagecoach West, West Wellbeing

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CONTENTS

OPERATIONS AWARDS

UK Bus Operator of the Year

Top City Operator

Top Shire Operator

Top Independent Operator

Top National Bus Depot

TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

New Horizons Making Buses a Better Choice: The Peter Huntley Memorial Award

Cultural Change

LONDON AWARDS

ABOUT THE UK BUS AWARDS

Top National Bus Driver: The Chris Moyes Memorial Award

Environment

PEOPLE AWARDS

Leader of the Year

ROSCO Award for Innovation in Road Safety

London Bus Garage of the Year Luke Rees-Pulley Charitable Trust Award for Top London Bus Driver

Judging entries in the UK Bus Awards Sponsorship

Young Manager of the Year

Bus and the Community Award

Unsung Heroes Award

The Award for Marketing Initiative of the Year

Engineer of the Year

The Award for Sustained Marketing Excellence

Services to the Industry

UK BUS AWARDS 2019 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman: Mark Yexley Director of Sales: Steve Cresswell Event Director: Jamie Cash MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Convenor of Judges: John Owen obe and Mark Yexley Management Committee Members: James Freeman, Andrew Garnett, Alan Hill, Alex Hornby, John Miller, Ray Stenning and Claire Walters

PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

Accountants: The Shepherd Partnership Administration: Lauren Cresswell Event Catering: Party Ingredients Event Production: Paul Ashlee (Awesome Events) and the team at Troxy, London Press and PR: Chloe Leach-O'Connell (Leach-O'Connell Consultancy) Video: Paul Broadie (Manto Films) PRODUCTION

The UK Bus Awards 2019 - The Big Book of Big Winners - has been produced by Passenger Transport magazine.

Designer: Keith Simpson (keith@one-creative.com). Distribution: Courtesy of Bus and Coach Buyer, BUSES, Coach & Bus Week, Passenger Transport. This publication and the UK Bus Awards logo is copyright Â© The Bus Industry Awards 2019. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher. The Bus Industry Awards Ltd, organisers of the UK Bus Awards, 11 Gisburn Road, Bolton by Bowland, Clitheroe BB7 4NP Telephone: 0300 010 3450 Email: admin@ukbusawards.org.uk Web: www.ukbusawards.org.uk

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Media partners transporttimes

6TH FEBRUARY 2020 QEII CENTRE, BROAD SANCTUARY, WESTMINSTER, LONDON SW1P 3EE

THE NEED FOR A NATIONAL BUS STRATEGY WHAT CAN OUR BUSES DO FOR OUR COUNTRY? The 6th annual UK Bus Summit will take place in London on 6th February 2020. The UK Bus Summit is the premier bus event covering all parts of the UK. Held right at the heart of Westminster to elevate the importance of bus at the centre of local and national decision making, the event allows the opportunity to compare and contrast bus policy throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Key decision makers in government from around the UK will lead oﬀ the day, alongside the voice of the bus and coach industry CPT, to put forward the investment case for the bus, highlighting why the country desperately needs a bus strategy. Other themes that will take a focus include: → Buses, business and retail → The role of the bus in achieving clean growth and net zero → How to make the most of the Bus Services Act We are looking forward to welcoming delegates from across the industry, including manufacturers, suppliers, operators, LEPS, local authorities, and government, among others.

For more information please visit www.transporttimes.co.uk or call 0207 828 3804 Sponsors

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Supported by

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FOREWORD

With a General Election looming there is no Government and no Ministers so no one to provide us with an optimistic overview for buses. So we asked Leon Daniels, winner of the UK Bus Awards ‘Services to the Industry’ award in 2017, to step in

hydrogen or any other type of energy. Over the next year we might well expect significant upheavals in the constituency of the industry with major sales of Arriva and First Bus being achieved, major transport PLCs reconsidering whether they want to play in the post-Williams Review rail industry, and of course the major European operators considering how they work in a post-Brexit United Kingdom. If you are getting progressively depressed and tempted to skip a few pages then let us all remember that all challenges are really opportunities in disguise. Whatever the changes bring there will still be a demand for mass transit and passengers will need buses to travel in, staff to drive them and support staff to deliver it all. Air quality concerns are now significant and fleet renewals with new types of energy are inevitable, which should be good news for manufacturers. There is an increasing suite of tools to use data to analyse business performance and optimise operations, helping stimulate demand and reduce costs. Enlightened operators will be selectively using the outputs to refine their businesses. Looking further ahead connected and autonomous vehicles will add a whole new dimension to how people travel. This will be a progressive change but one with huge implications for the industry. So, I make some predictions for 2020: There will be a huge increase in the proportion of transactions using contactless payment mechanisms. This in turn will reduce sensitivity to price as each transaction is more deeply lost in a plethora of other low value purchases. Operators will use sophisticated tools to be able to offer price capping and

other deals which do not require passengers to navigate a bewildering range of fares. The industry will continue to relearn that deploying small buses on initiatives such as demand-responsive operations will rarely make any money since the proportion of total operating costs that is labour will always be too high and the chance to make any upside is constrained by only having a limited number of seats. One day maybe when there is no longer a need for a human driver the economics of this may look better. 2020 will be a big year for zero emission vehicles as for political reasons more cities take urgent steps to improve air quality. Volumes of battery-electric double and singledeckers will reach an all-time high, with improved range and more competitive pricing. Hydrogen will start to take a slice of the zero emission market, selling on its better range and the limitations of the grid to provide electricity in some locations. Innovative companies will provide a service to deliver energy with improved green credentials and addressing the capital costs, fixing the price of energy and derisking currency fluctuations. Air quality concerns will restart the politically toxic question of road user pricing but now using technology to charge variably taking into account congestion levels, pollution contribution and any other social factors. Road user pricing will also be inevitable as the Treasury looks to replace the £28bn it receives in fuel duty which will be eroded by the move to non-fossil fuels. A philosopher once reminded us that you can only reconcile life by looking at it in the past, but to make progress you must look to the future, no matter how chaotic it might look. I wonder how we will look back on the era we are now participating in?

he single-word describing 2019 must be ‘uncertainty’ and on this day celebrating success in the bus industry we are no more certain as to when or how we will leave the European Union, who will be the Government, when Crossrail will open, what HS2 will look like, who will be the Secretary of State for Transport, who will be the next Mayors of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester or London, or whether social changes will continue to depress bus ridership thanks to Uber, Amazon, working from home and more walking and cycling in our cities. No wonder transport operators are thinking carefully about investment decisions. Whilst they are pondering these issues they will also be thinking about future transport policies, whether franchising is likely to emerge in our major cities, and whether now that diesel has been outlawed in the corridors of power they should leap headlong into battery-electric, 7

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EXPO

2020

THE DEFINITIVE EXHIBITION FOR BUS & COACH PROFESSIONALS EXPLORE OVER 130 OF THE LATEST VEHICLES COMPARE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FROM OVER 170 EXHIBITORS KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TECHNOLOGY AND THE LATEST INNOVATIONS LEARN ABOUT HOT TOPICS AND FUTURE TRENDS IN THE MASTER CLASS THEATRE

“Euro Bus Expo is the ‘one stop shop’ for seeing and evaluating developments in vehicles, technology, emerging products and innovation. An absolute must for anyone involved in the bus and coach industry.” IAN WARR, ENGINEERING DIRECTOR, FIRST UK BUS

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Show Partner

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OPERATIONS

UK BUS OPERATOR OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by

This is the ‘grand prix’ of the UK Bus Awards. Pre-eminent amongst bus operators in the UK, the UK Bus Operator of the Year, more than any other, delivers consistently excellent customer service and demonstrates its success through sustained effort over the long term. The crème-de-la-crème, the UK Bus Operator of the Year is selected from the highest-scoring contestants in the awards for Top Independent Operator, Top Shire Operator and Top City Operator.

The best in the business: Mark Fowles (left), Sheila Swift and Jatinder Kumar celebrate NCT's win

Ensignbus Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire GOLD WINNER

NOTTINGHAM CITY TRANSPORT

It’s been a record two years of investment for NCT, with £42m invested on its fleet and infrastructure, upgrading its entire fleet to Euro 6. 130 brand new buses since 2017 and exhaust treatment systems fitted to 180 diesel buses has resulted in fleet emissions falling 90% and 8,000 tonnes of CO2 and 70 tonnes of NOX emissions avoided in the last 12 months. Against English bus patronage outside London continuing to fall, NCT achieved commercial patronage growth of 1.3% on a stable network and is taking over two Park & Ride services commercially this year, which were at risk due to local authority budget pressures. Achieving 10-year high customer satisfaction scores across all 17 service features measured in 2018, buses turning up on time improved by over 2% to 92.5% and lost mileage reduced. A refreshed website and very successful,

continually evolving app used by 70,000 registered customers, supported by new digital services like ‘Ask Alexa’, make information easily accessible. NCT has embraced Bus Services Act open data requirements, publishing its Open Data Portal six months ahead of the legislative deadline.

bus and assisted families in need. Innovation within the company, particularly in the field of health and wellbeing, has improved staff engagement and new ways of partnering with communities have kept marginal services operating. Underlying this is a strong focus on customers and safety with new ways of engaging staff significantly reducing accidents.

SILVER WINNER BRONZE WINNER

STAGECOACH CUMBRIA & NORTH LANCASHIRE

ENSIGNBUS

This bus company is all about partnership, innovation and strong operational delivery. It has delivered high quality services over a number of years culminating in a 93% overall passenger satisfaction score in the 2018 Transport Focus survey. Partnership working with councils, universities and other operators has driven customer growth. Strong partnerships with community organisations have helped vulnerable people back onto the

Ensignbus is a rare breed. Not only in being an independent operating one of the most modern fleets of any of its peers, on a fully commercial network, but also in showing year-on-year revenue and passenger increases in every single one of the past 15 years. This has been achieved against a backdrop of operating in one of the UK’s busiest and most congested areas thus providing extreme operating conditions for such successes.

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OPERATIONS

TOP CITY OPERATOR

Sponsored by

This award is open to operators of registered bus services based in, or operating wholly or mainly in, the city region areas and other major cities with populations of more than 250,000.

Nottingham City Transport

Brighton & Hove Buses GOLD WINNER

NOTTINGHAM CITY TRANSPORT

It’s been a record two years of investment for NCT, with £42m invested on its fleet and infrastructure, upgrading its entire fleet to Euro 6. 130 brand new buses since 2017 and exhaust treatment systems fitted to 180 diesel buses has resulted in substantial cuts in fleet emissions. Against English bus patronage outside London continuing to fall, NCT achieved commercial patronage growth of 1.3% on a stable network and is taking over two Park&Ride services on a commercial basis Achieving 10 year high customer satisfaction scores across all 17 features measured in 2018, buses turning up on time improved by over 2% to 92.5% and lost mileage reduced. A refreshed website and very successful, continually evolving app used by 70,000 registered customers, supported by new digital services make information easily accessible and going further, NCT has also embraced Bus Services Act open data. n A well written entry backed up with a good service on the ground, verified by our mystery travellers, is how the judges described NCT. The company has made a substantial

Stagecoach Manchester

investment in gas buses and achieved an 11% growth in young people travelling. It has also made its bus times available on Alexa. SILVER WINNER

BRIGHTON & HOVE BUSES

Brighton & Hove Buses covers Brighton and Hove, and also connects the city to Crowborough, Eastbourne, Lewes and Tunbridge Wells. It has continued to buck the national trend of declining bus use. Passengers made 51.3 million journeys in 2018/19, up 1.5 million journeys and 3% from the year before: the UK’s highest bus use per head of the population outside London. The company has done this by putting its heart and soul into customer service, accessibility, innovation and low emissions buses. It must be working - customer satisfaction is 91% and Brighton & Hove is deeply rooted in the communities it serves. It says that what’s good for its passengers and communities is good for its business, whether that’s multi-operator ticketing, superhubs or community ticket deals. 98% of the fleet is Euro 5 standard or better and thirty extended-range electric buses are being introduced into service.

BRONZE WINNER

STAGECOACH MANCHESTER

Stagecoach Manchester carries 106 million passengers on a fleet of 750 buses. Over the last year it has improved service delivery by renewing its customer proposition on an ongoing basis and invested in new services. This has enabled it to grow passenger numbers by 2.5%, against a backdrop of national decline. At 89% its passenger satisfaction remains at industry-leading levels. The company has listened to and invested in its staff, leading it to achieve staff engagement levels of 78%, higher than the industry norm. Stagecoach Manchester provides safe, high-quality, good value and accessible travel on one of the country’s greenest bus fleets and continues to invest to ensure its fleet helps to protect the air quality of the communities it serves. FINALISTS

n Lothian n National Express West Midlands n Plymouth Citybus n Stagecoach Merseyside n Translink Metro

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OPERATIONS

TOP SHIRE OPERATOR

Sponsored by

The award for operators in the shire areas of the UK, covering all areas outside our major cities. GOLD WINNER

STAGECOACH CUMBRIA & NORTH LANCASHIRE

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire have delivered high quality services over a number of years, culminating in a 93% overall satisfaction score in the 2018 Transport Focus survey. Partnership working with councils, universities and other operators has driven customer growth. Strong partnerships with community organisations have helped vulnerable people back onto the bus and assisted families in need. Innovation within the company particularly in the field of health and wellbeing has improved staff engagement and new ways of partnering with

communities have kept marginal services operating. Underlying this is a strong focus on customers and safety with new ways of engaging staff reducing accidents. ■ Given the cuts from local authorities in its territory, the judges thought the company had done exceptionally well. In Cumbria, the company copes well with adverse weather in the winter, and a large influx of visitors in the summer when it has to deal with a lot of congestion. The judges also noted new initiatives for young people and its excellent partnership working with local communities to keep marginal services running. SILVER WINNER

STAGECOACH EAST SCOTLAND

Stagecoach East Scotland operate throughout Fife, Perthshire, Dundee and Angus, with journeys extending to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Livingston, facilitiating 32 million passenger journeys per year. As well as local bus services across the region, the company’s award winning Express City Connect network connects towns and cities using high

quality coaches. With 1,300 employees and 469 vehicles, the company is one of the largest bus operators in Scotland, using strong working partnerships with local stakeholders including 10 local authorities, to implement service improvements and continual network development with effective results. Operating in challenging markets, growth is achieved through network development, ongoing marketing excellence and strong stakeholder engagement. During 2018, investment has delivered increased capacity, state-of-the-art vehicles and improved staff welfare facilities. The company says it remains dedicated to delivering safe and comfortable journeys via a seamless customer experience. To enhance that experience, it works with external partners to improve customer experience as well as increase staff engagement and satisfaction. BRONZE WINNER

OXFORD BUS COMPANY

A public transport operator does more than just operate transport - it is a large part of the lives of those in the community it serves. Oxford Bus Company aims to provide quality services that its passengers can rely on while also ensuring its environmental footprint is as light as its social footprint is heavy. Doing “the right thing” obviously has a financial impact - which can be seen in the cost of developing new services, such as the PickMeUp demand-responsive minibus service, as well as in the company’s capital investment - but it believes that in the long run this makes good business sense. The same goes for investment in its people, be it reward and recognition, fair remuneration and loyalty incentives or otherwise. FINALISTS

■ EastCoastbuses ■ Go South Coast ■ Metrobus ■ Stagecoach East Midlands ■ Warrington's Own Buses Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire MD Mark Whitelocks (third from left) and colleagues collect the award

The team from Stagecoach East Scotland celebrate their Silver Award

Oxford Bus Company

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OPERATIONS

TOP INDEPENDENT OPERATOR

Sponsored by

This award is for smaller bus companies with fleets of fewer than 100 vehicles, not owned by a public limited company (plc) or holding company which owns three or more bus operating subsidiaries.

It's a family affair at Prentice Coaches - this year's Silver Award winner

Ross Newman from Ensignbus GOLD WINNER

ENSIGNBUS

Ensign is a rare breed. Not only in being an independent operating one of the most modern fleets of any of its peers, on a fully commercial network, but also in showing year-on-year revenue and passenger increases in every single one of the past 15 years. This has been achieved against a backdrop of operating in one of the UK’s busiest and most congested areas thus providing extreme operating conditions for such successes. ■ The judges noted that Ensignbus operates in difficult operating territory with both high car ownership and lots of congestion, yet our mystery travellers noted it still provides a good service. It has made lots of changes to meet passenger demand, which has no doubt helped it mark 15 years of continuous growth. New services on Boxing Day, and a customer telephone number manned 24 hours a day, also impressed the judges. SILVER WINNER

PRENTICE COACHES

Prentice of Haddington are a forward thinking, innovative family-owned and run

Courtney Buses

multi-award winning bus company based in Haddington, the county town of East Lothian. The company was established in 1991 as a coach operator and bus operations started in 1993 and has expanded considerably in recent years as opportunities have arisen and it now accounts for around 70% of its business, playing a vital role in the infrastructure of its operating area. The company says it believes in running modern eco-friendly buses kept in immaculate condition, offering simple value for money fares, including contactless and smartcard options, coupled with an old fashioned customer care ethos delivered by staff who take immense pride their work and community. BRONZE WINNER

COURTNEY BUSES

For a small operator, with less than 60 operator licences, Courtney has achieved big things. There has been a focus on improving absolutely everything for the passengers and employees while expanding with new routes, innovative new technologies including an app and contactless, launched MyDas Touch driver self-service app, plus a great

combination of investments. Courtney has shown that it cares about the communities it services by creating truly accessible services for everyone, fundraising to install a life-saving defibrillator in the Bracknell Bus station, providing transport to many large events in the Berkshire area, such as the Bracknell Ale and Cider festival, and sponsoring Bracknell Bees Ice hockey team. It is a true part of the communities we serve. All of this couldn’t have been achieved without putting its passengers first, having amazing customer service and employing only the best. Despite a decrease in bus usage elsewhere in the UK, Courtney has seen 10.9% more passengers and 16.7% more revenue in the past year. The business is 42% more profitable than the previous year, all resulting in the small operator being recently purchased by Reading Buses. Courtney says that’s the best recognition an independent operator could receive for its efforts to deliver excellence. FINALISTS

■ BorderBus ■ Edwards coaches ■ Uno

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Congratulations! To all the winners and finalists at the UK Bus Awards 2019! We wish you all continued success for the future.

Timetabling • Crew & Vehicle Scheduling • Crew Duties & Rostering • Driver & Vehicle Allocation • Driver Communication • Electronic Bus Service Registration • TransXChange/GTFS/VDV • Asset Management • Stop Displays • Schedules Training • Consultancy

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Get noticed, Get connected, Get ahead CILT(UK) is a membership organisation for all individuals and organisations involved in the movement of goods and people. Get involved with a range of events and networking opportunities as part of your membership • Bus & Coach Forum • Transport Managers Forum • Accessibility and Inclusion Forum • Transport and Logistics Safety Forum Conference A range of qualifications and training are available for the Bus and Coach sector including: • CPC Passenger Transport Manager • CPC Passenger Transport Manager Refresher

ciltuk.org.uk

Proud to be supporting the UK Bus & Coach industry for over 10 years.

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01904 570 021

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W: www.portland-fuel.co.uk

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OPERATIONS

TOP NATIONAL BUS DEPOT

Sponsored by

SILVER WINNER

BRONZE WINNER

READING READING BUSES

This award is designed to recognise and reward high standards of operation and customer care throughout the UK. The award is open to bus depots or garages which operate buses on local services outside London. The award is made to the garage which, in the opinion of the judges, delivers the highest operational standards to its customers.

GOLD WINNER

BLAIRGOWRIE STAGECOACH EAST SCOTLAND

The Stagecoach bus depot in Blairgowrie operates with a fleet of 24 vehicles, operating regular commuter journeys to Perth and Dundee as well as local town routes and other vital rural bus links. The strong staff base has a commitment to providing quality bus services for the community, staff morale is high and this professionalism is shown in the positive performance of the depot. Reliability and punctuality statistics for Blairgowrie are excellent and the procedures for monitoring services and communicating any disruptions ensure that customers are kept informed on the rare occasion that services are not running as planned. The development of a strong community spirit and team structure within Blairgowrie means that the employees are an integral part of the community they live, socialise and work in, committing to charity and community events and taking pride in their roles. ■ A depot with a real family feel that reaches out to its community, was how the judges described Blairgowrie. They also commented on the depot’s impressive KPIs and that not a single member of staff has left, other than for retirement.

This year Reading Buses maintained attention on improving punctuality and reliability. Its ‘back to basics’ approach has really paid off. By focussing on operational standards the company made the depot better, safer and more efficient, while combining it with technology and innovation to make customers happier. Overall customer satisfaction has risen to sixth in England at 94% - a great result. The company says combining its special blend of colourful buses and amazing people, it cared for customers and the community, encouraged ‘Team Reading Buses’ to show team spirit, trained its employees better than ever while staying safe and healthy in the process. The depot has pulled together as one big team to deliver ‘unrelenting customer focus’, helping to buck the trend in the transport industry for customer growth with 26% more customer journeys, at 20.3 million per year in 2018. Most importantly this figure is not just growth by acquisition – it’s like-for-like underlying growth.

SWINDON GO SOUTH COAST - SWINDON’S BUS COMPANY

Since acquiring former municipal Thamesdown Transport, Go South Coast has applied its successful formula. It has repositioned a perceived outdated, uncaring bus operator into a vibrant forward-thinking modern bus company that people are proud to work for and enjoy travelling with. Its latest results from the Transport Focus survey are all a significant increase on the prior year, with overall satisfaction climbing from 78% to 93%. That’s a massive 15% increase in one year. It’s been a whirlwind of a journey, from a name change and rebranding exercise to embracing technology, building relationships within the community and nurturing and improving employee moral by involving them in decisions and improving training standards. FINALISTS

■ Crawley, Metrobus ■ St Andrews, Stagecoach East Scotland

The team from Stagecoach East Scotland's Blairgowrie depot

Go South Coast - Swindon's Bus Company Metrobus

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Electric buses are fantastic in helping to create desire for bus travel and make our towns and cities cleaner, better places to be in. Harrogate in Yorkshire is Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first electric bus town, where a fleet of Volvo electric buses on urban routes are making bus travel a far more attractive option. No matter how environmentally-friendly the buses are, all the touch points have to be right, too, to really make the difference and encourage the switch to bus. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why Transdev came to Best Impressions to make sure the buses were expertly branded, looked gorgeous inside and out, and collateral like bus stops, publicity and promotional material all helped to create desire . . . because creating desire is what we do.

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TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL

ENVIRONMENT

This award is presented to the scheme which, in the opinion of the judges, constitutes the best contribution by a bus operator, authority, manufacturer or any group or individual within those organisations to one or more of the following: further improving the environmental friendliness of the bus; improving the environment in which buses operate; improving the environment for bus users and potential users.

Harrogate Bus Company have created the UK’s first ever Low Emission Bus Town

Stagecoach South GOLD WINNER

Go South Coast SILVER WINNER

THE HARROGATE BUS COMPANY HARROGATE ELECTRICS

STAGECOACH SOUTH GUILDFORD PARK & RIDE ELECTRIC BUSES

With the investment in a fleet of eight nextgeneration zero-emission electric buses, and continued investment in new and refurbished Euro 6 buses for the rest of its fleet serving Harrogate, the Harrogate Bus Company has created the UK’s first ever Low Emission Bus Town. In 2016, it secured a £2.2m investment from the Department for Transport to match its own £1.7m pledge to transform Harrogate - and the benefits are now coming to fruition, with the UK’s first ‘open access’ opportunity charging system installed at Harrogate’s bus station, available for all operators within the town to use. The entire project also has strong support from stakeholders. ■ ‘Great’ was the word that one judge used to sum up the introduction of electric buses in Harrogate. The company focussed on one area and did it very well, with excellent stakeholder and community contact. The vehicles are highly visible with an eye-catching livery, and as another judge said, the scheme shows what the bus industry can do.

Guildford Park & Ride services operate from four sites and operate six days a week. In January 2019, Stagecoach South unveiled a fleet of nine brand new BYD ADL Enviro 200 electric vehicles to operate on the services. Following a bid for the Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ (OLEV) ‘low emission bus scheme’ in partnership with Surrey County Council, the new services marked a first not only for the local network, but also the South of England, and an evenly split £3m investment from Stagecoach South and the council. The buses were launched to widespread acclaim, following a fully integrated marketing campaign and the creation of a distinctive brand for the Park & Ride routes. Stagecoach South were also challenged to find a suitable way of drawing power from the National Grid to charge the vehicles overnight, leading to a partnership with Zenobe Energy to install a Tesla power pack. The new electric vehicles emit no CO2 or NOx, saving the town from 2,870.4

g/kWhr of particulates and 100,464 g/hWr of Nitrogen Oxide per year. BRONZE WINNER

GO SOUTH COAST BLUESTAR – THE UK’S FIRST AIR FILTERING BUS

Southampton is at its unsafe limit for clean air. The air is killing people and we all need to act and work together to make a difference for the future of our community. Buses are part of the solution to the pollution. Bluestar has worked in collaboration with PALL Aerospace to launch this simple innovation of the UK’s first air filtering bus. Results are positive and additional vehicles will be fitted so we can help improve the future air quality in Southampton. FINALISTS

■ Go-Ahead London, Series-E hybrid buses for London ■ Metroline, Electric buses and Cleaner Air for Bus Drivers ■ RATP Dev London, Electric buses at Shepherd's Bush

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22/11/2019 17:27

Well done colleagues We’re proud of all of you! Bus and the Community GOLD – Oxford Bus Company Top City Operator SILVER – Brighton & Hove Buses

Top Shire Operator BRONZE – Oxford Bus Company

Young Manager of the Year SILVER – Kerry Grant, Go South Coast

Top London Bus Driver BRONZE – Peter Huttly, Go-Ahead London

Cultural Change SILVER – Oxford Bus Company

London Bus Garage of the Year BRONZE – Croydon, Go-Ahead London

Making Buses a Better Choice SILVER – Oxford Bus Company

Environment Award BRONZE – Bluestar Top National Depot BRONZE – Swindon’s Bus Company

go-ahead.com

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25/11/2019 21/11/2019 10:53 14:23

TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL

NEW HORIZONS AWARD

Sponsored by

GOLD WINNER

ABELLIO LONDON MOBILEYE

Technology and customer interests and expectations continue to develop at a rapid pace; the bus industry needs to embrace these changes, and react to the challenges coming from a changing mobility and social landscape. The New Horizons Award is intended to be a showcase for creativity and innovation. As such, a successful nomination for this award needs to demonstrate development of an original or novel idea, or the application of a technological solution that achieves one or more of the following: improves the image of the bus; stimulates interest in, or desire for, the bus product; improves the viability or efficiency of the industry. This award will be made for the innovation or application which most contributes to the improvement of the bus product.

Road safety is of paramount importance to Abellio London. Working with Mobileye’s real time collision prevention technology initially as part of Transport for London’s Safety Innovation Fund the company trialled the technology on three bus routes from Battersea depot. The results were astounding with a 26% reduction in avoidable collisions and a 36% reduction in avoidable on-board customer injuries year on year. Following the successful trial, a business case was approved to fit the entire fleet with the technology. Installations are now underway and will be completed before the end of the year. Beddington depot installed 47% of their fleet and saw a 52% reduction in collisions. Drivers like the technology, seeing it as a real time assist for them in their busy roles plus it’s easy to use and many of them have similar technology in their personal cars. Through this project Abellio London is improving road safety in London and playing a part in working towards TfL’s Vision Zero. ■ Noting that Abellio London was so impressed with the results of the trial with Mobileye that it installed the system on all its buses, the judges thought this was an excellent use of pump-priming by TfL to fund the trial. Abellio made adjustments to the system for its local conditions and there’s now something that other operators can use. SILVER WINNER

OMNIBUS CREWPLAN

CrewPLAN is a software solution provided by Omnibus and is used by bus companies across the world to create driver duties, quickly and efficiently. This computerised duty compilation tool already provides market leading results, however Omnibus set out on a project to utilise the latest improvements in computer technology to enhance their

product, believing it could greatly improve the efficiency, not only of the duties created, but of the schedulers themselves. After engaging with companies from across the UK bus industry, the project evolved to include new features and enhanced functionality, resulting in a far more powerful and effective tool which allows users to harness the full power of an improved iterative algorithm lying at the core of the new software. Early testing of the new and improved CrewPLAN software has seen some schedules achieving an increase in efficiency of up to 4%. Further to this, tests at one company has shown that savings of nearly £500,000 could be achieved within just one year. These early headline figures are, to say the least, encouraging and Omnibus hope see similar improvements in efficiency being achieved as they roll their new software out to customers, saving millions of pounds nationwide. BRONZE WINNER

WEST BERKSHIRE COUNCIL NEWBURY E-PAPER NEXT BUS PILOT

West Berkshire Council was the first in the UK to introduce an electronic e-paper information screen powered by solar energy. The pilot e-paper screen consisted of a ruggedised display bracketed to a 76mm diameter street sign pole. It displays real time local bus arrivals and a general customer information section. The location for the e-paper pilot was beside the main bus shelter for passengers at the Park Way residential, leisure and retail development in Newbury. Technology partner Papercast also provided access to a password-protected portal that enables the information displayed on the screen to be seen and status of the pilot unit to be monitored live. FINALIST

■ First Glasgow, Mirrorless CCTV

West Berkshire Council

Martin Moran (second from left) and Lorna Murphy from Abellio London

The team from Omnibus celebrate their Silver Award

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22/11/2019 17:30

TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL

MAKING BUSES A BETTER CHOICE: THE PETER HUNTLEY MEMORIAL AWARD Sponsored by

Peter Huntley had a long career in public transport, working in transport coordination for local authorities, as a consultant at The TAS Partnership, as a journalist and writer, and as an inspirational managing director of bus company Go North East, between 2006 and 2011. He was tragically killed in a climbing accident in February 2012 at the age of 55. Peter helped to found the UK Bus Awards in 1995 and this award is dedicated to his memory as the category that best represents the breadth of his interests and his passion for excellence. Translink

First West of England GOLD WINNER

TRANSLINK GLIDER

In September 2018, Translink launched the flagship Glider system. Delivery of the new system was a key objective of the Northern Ireland Programme for Government and has an important role in the sustainable growth of Belfast. Glider, is the culmination of a decade long, £90m programme that has transformed public transport in Belfast. It included extensive works to provide bus priority across the city, public transport interchanges, new halts, a major vehicle service centre and offboard ticketing system, enhanced passenger information systems, a fleet of hybrid articulated buses, feeder services, over 130 new staff and new operational arrangements. The system was developed by Translink in conjunction with the Department for Infrastructure, key stakeholder groups and local communities. Glider largely replaced the existing urban bus services on routes to East and West Belfast and into the expanding Titanic Quarter. Since launching, Glider has produced unprecedented growth in passenger numbers on the corridors and seen outstanding operational performance.

Oxford Bus Company

n The judges appreciated that the scheme was made possible by heavy scale government investment in infrastructure and pointed out that Glider has brought communities together over and above the creation of a modern and well used transport system linking the east and west of Belfast. They also noted excellent partnership working throughout the project and the basis to expand the system across the city in the future. SILVER WINNER

OXFORD BUS COMPANY PICKMEUP

PickMeUp, by the Oxford Bus Company, is an innovative on-demand ride-sharing minibus service, providing convenient and affordable travel solutions throughout the ‘eastern arc’ of the city of Oxford. PickMeUp customers simply download a free app to their mobile phone, register an account, request a pick-up and one of our drivers will come and pick them up, usually in around 15 minutes. Passenger journeys are aggregated with other passengers who wish to travel to similar locations, in the same direction to enable reduction of costs and congestion.

BRONZE WINNER

FIRST WEST OF ENGLAND METROBUS BRISTOL

Metrobus has revolutionised bus travel in Bristol. An innovative new service, it has carried more than two million passengers in a little over a year and customer numbers are still growing. It uses guided busways, bus-only bridges and buy-before-you-board technology to speed up journeys and these investments are paying off. There is very high (75%) reliability satisfaction and 80% would recommend the service to a friend. Overcoming initial sceptisism, the routes have exceeded expectations of stakeholders, media and customers alike and the network is now Bristol’s flagship service for the future of mobility in the city. FINALISTS

n Reading Buses, purple 17 n Rosso, Transforming Rosso n Stagecoach South West, N21 night bus n Stagecoach West, S6 Swindon to Oxford Improvements n Thames Travel, Connector 98/99

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22/11/2019 17:46

CULTURAL CHANGE

The general environment for bus companies has been changing rapidly for some years. The Cultural Change award is intended to recognise particular efforts to change the outlook of a whole company towards the way it has done things traditionally.

GOLD WINNER

NATIONAL EXPRESS WEST MIDLANDS MASTER DRIVER

National Express’s Master Driver programme recognises the challenges the company’s drivers overcome every day. It improves their skills, increases their engagement and rewards excellence. This programme is unique within the public transport sector and is delivering a proud, more engaged workforce and a safer, better service to our customers. Nick Denton, West Midlands Traffic Commissioner, is a fan. He says: “It is great to see the company developing such a positive training programme for all of its drivers.” Master Drivers are already demonstrating safer driving, they are more engaged and most importantly, they feel valued. The company says it has created a desirable training programme that drivers want to participate and join in. Increased employee engagement will help National Express retain more highly trained and engaged drivers who are happier and safer on the roads. ■ The judges noted the huge impact that the Master Driver has had on raising driving standards, and importantly, with a direct effect on passengers travelling on exceptionally well driven buses. The company has created a scheme that its bus drivers want to join to improve their skills and be recognised for their exemplary driving and great customer service. This is the essence of a cultural change.. SILVER WINNER

of a long-serving Managing Director and declining morale. This detailed programme has included everything from manager development, departmental restructures, an overhaul of the training programme, depot moves, recognition and development investment, to name just a few. The company is now starting to see the fruits of this work in improved driver morale, reduced sickness and turnover, and improved scores in independent customer surveys. As the Chinese proverb goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” What could have easily been relegated to the “too hard” category has been pursued with tenacity and consistency. BRONZE WINNER

STAGECOACH WEST WEST WELLBEING

Stagecoach West believed a change was needed to the harsh, rule-driven industry, to show its employees the company cares and that it will support them through their personal journeys. The resulting West Wellbeing Strategy has been admired by other local employers and while this has taken time and investment the company firmly believes it is now a better employer who offers an excellent range of support for all it employees. The results are clear - this change of approach and understanding has led to a 9% reduction in staff turnover. FINALISTS

OXFORD BUS COMPANY CULTURAL CHANGE JOURNEY

Four years ago, Oxford Bus Company began a progressive journey of Cultural Change. This began in mid-2015, after the departure

■ First bus, Journey Makers ■ Go-Ahead London, Better bus drivers for London ■ Stagecoach UK Bus, Level 2 bus driver apprenticeship

Stagecoach West

Oxford Bus Company

Colleagues from National Express West Midlands collect their Gold Award

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22/11/2019 17:49

TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL

ROSCO AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN ROAD SAFETY Sponsored by

GOLD WINNER

ARRIVA YORKSHIRE DRIVING A STRONG SAFETY CULTURE

This award will go to the organisation, operator or employee who, in the opinion of the judges, has made the most innovative contribution towards safety and safe driving during the past year.

Arriva Yorkshire’s Dewsbury Depot’s commitment to improve and develop their safety culture has led to an innovative and consistent approach to training and after just 18 months the results have been remarkable. By following tried and tested methods to empower employees they have had a huge impact on business performance and the training had an effect on the whole depot performance to - the company depot of the year accolade was awarded to Dewsbury in October! The 10th month of the competition, which is based on KPI performance, had already been determined through the team’s excellent scores. n The judges were very impressed with the outputs from this pilot scheme in an area of the industry not known for its innovation. Similar initiatives in other depots around the country could not only have a major effect in reducing blameworthy accidents and their resulting cost, but also bring wider performance benefits to operators. SILVER WINNER

ABELLIO LONDON MOBILEYE

and will be completed before the end of the year. Beddington depot have installed the technology on 47% of their fleet and this has already led to a 52% reduction in collisions. Drivers like the technology, seeing it as a real time assist for them in their busy roles plus it’s easy to use and many of them have similar technology in their own cars. The project also aims to play a part in working towards Transport for London’s Vision Zero initiative. BRONZE WINNER

TRANSLINK GLIDER DRIVER TRAINING PROGRAMME

To manage and improve road safety following the introduction of a new rapid transit service in Belfast, the Translink Training Academy designed and delivered a transformative conversion training programme that not only let the drivers familiarise themselves with the new vehicles but focused on route risks, safe urban driving and managing distraction. This two-week programme was a huge investment in staff development and by partnering with key stakeholders Translink undertook a successful training event that has already realised an improvement in safety performance and incredible increase in patronage in the first nine months of operation. In order to establish a positive safety culture within Glider Translink researched best practice and introduced new methods of training that challenged the norm such as disability equality training rather than simple ‘awareness’ training, which just focuses on understanding disability as a medical health care issue. The company also utilised simple yet effective route training videos that focused on route risks. To assist with ensuring these improved standards are consistently met, Translink introduced a comprehensive process to identify any development needs and provide ongoing driver support.

Abellio London

Translink

Kim Purcell (second from left) and Paul Flanagan from Arriva Yorkshire

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22/11/2019 17:50

BUS AND THE COMMUNITY AWARD

Sponsored by

This award is designed to recognise and reward a scheme, project or other activity which has provided benefits to local people. The judges look for nominations which place the bus industry (in its widest sense) at the heart of the local community in the area served, by raising funds for a local charitable project or helping the local community to achieve an objective of its own.

Oxford Bus company

Translink GOLD WINNER

OXFORD BUS COMPANY BRAND THE BUS!

The ‘Brand the Bus!’ competition provides local charities and other good causes opportunity to promote themselves. It also enables the Oxford Bus Company to demonstrate its commitment to corporate social responsibility and generates substantial positive PR for all parties. Competition entrants create a short video or PDF presentation showing why their charity or other good cause deserves to brand a bus. Entries are displayed in an online gallery, viewed by thousands of web visitors, where the public vote for their favourite. The shortlisted 10 are then considered by a judging panel and the winner gets to have an Oxford Bus Company double-decker bus painted and wrapped in the colours, logo and messaging of their cause. The bus travels the streets of Oxford as part of our regular fleet, seen by thousands of residents and visitors to Oxford every day. Highly commended runners-up also receive support in the form of complimentary on-bus digital screen advertising. The competition was launched in 2018 and in its first year

Metroline

attracted 39 entrants and approximately 6,000 unique votes from members of the public. It regularly appeared in local press and social media posts were well received. This year’s competition has just opened. ■ What impressed the judges with the innovative Brand the Bus! competition was how the scheme links back to the community, creating a momentum that lasts into the future so that all the charities get some benefit from the publicity. They also liked that the company has already planned for year three of the competition. SILVER WINNER

TRANSLINK STUFF A BUS

Between November 23 and December 18, 2018, Northern Ireland public transport operator Translink, joined forces with Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) for the second time to deliver a Christmas Family Appeal called #StuffABusNI! With a core aim to raise awareness of childhood poverty in Northern Ireland, the campaign demonstrated Translink’s commitment to the local community and achieved impressive engagement. Thanks to a collaborative, hard-

working programme of activity, the appeal smashed its 15,000 gift target and resulted in a total of 47,424 Christmas gifts being handed to disadvantaged families - an unprecedented positive response. BRONZE WINNER

METROLINE SCHOOL LIBRARY BUS

Metroline converted a double desk bus into a special library bus to be made a permanent part of the playground at the Sinai Jewish Primary School. Aimed at promoting reading and literacy amongst primary school children in a fun and exciting way, and to be shared with a number of schools in the area from different faiths as a true community project, the library bus - the first of its kind in London represented a perfect opportunity for Metroline to help invest in future generations. FINALISTS

■ Brighton & Hove Buses, Santa Bus ■ Go-Ahead Group, Chatty Bus ■ Reading Buses, Autism and accessibility ■ Stagecoach North East, Christmas fundraiser ■ Translink, Safety Bus

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22/11/2019 17:51

TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL

THE AWARD FOR MARKETING INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR Sponsored by

This award is for successful promotional ideas and campaigns which get the message about services over to the target market through advertising, PR activity or sales promotion schemes. It’s about creating an impact, winning ‘hearts and minds’, creating or developing a strong brand or improving the image of bus travel, and helping to change public perceptions and/or consumer behaviour. GOLD WINNER

STAGECOACH YORKSHIRE AND PARTNERS STIMULATING SENIOR BUS TRAVEL

Working as part of voluntary bus partnerships throughout South Yorkshire and Chesterfield, Stagecoach marketers sought to tackle industry wide decline within the senior ENCTS concessionary market. The campaign had three objectives - to encourage people within the target age range (65+) to apply for their senior bus pass, to stimulate those in possession of a pass that didn’t use it to do so, and to stimulate bus users with a pass to do so more often. As a result, South Yorkshire ENCTS pass applications increased 58.6% compared to prior periods and generated 55% new online sessions compared to 6% the previous year. During the campaign and immediately after the rate of decline slowed to 7% compared to 10% recorded in the prior period to the implementation of campaign messages. In Chesterfield, the company recorded an increase of 104% in online traffic to the senior pass information compared to the previous year and ENCTS Gold Pass applications increased 14% compared to previous periods. Year on year decline reduced to 1%, compared to 4% in 16/17 and 17/18. n In what the judges described as a good pure marketing entry, this scheme addressed what is a growing potential market, but which was seeing a decline in the number of passengers travelling. Helping with social inclusion as well as creating revenue, the judges particularly liked some of the examples of where to place marketing material for this sector such as chemist bags. SILVER WINNER

VISIT ISLE OF WIGHT EXPLORE BY BUS

Explore Bus Bus is transforming visitor travel on the Isle of Wight by providing free bus exploration to overnight staying visitors. The project specifically targets visitors which have

Stagecoach Yorkshire MD Matt Davies (second from left) with colleagues

Richard Hall (left) and David Swaney from Lothian

The Visit Isle of Wight team

travelled to the island with a private car, and in partnership with a network of hand picked accommodation providers - encourages them to replace a day of car travel with a day of complimentary bus travel. Launched in 2018, the initiative has generated nearly 12,000 bus trips, replacing 46,000 private car kilometres, successfully reuniting lapsed bus users with high quality experiences. BRONZE WINNER

LOTHIAN CRUISELINK

Lothian have established the Cruiselink bus service to provide a dedicated, direct, quality bus link between Queensferry Hawes Pier and Edinburgh city centre. The bus service, runs all day on cruise days and meets all cruise ships throughout the season. Working with volunteer partners CruiseForth, Lothian have established relationships within the cruise sector to help promote commercial bus services, improving accessibility for those with reduced mobility and increasing modal shift. Lothian have developed service,

timetable and ticketing products specifically to appeal to the cruise market. In its inaugural season Cruiselink carried 50,000 visitors from 25 calling ships, equating to 1/3 of the total capacity of all the cruise ships. Lothian have used the feedback from Supervisors, Drivers, Ticket Sellers and partners CruiseForth to improve the Cruiselink product for the 2019 season. It is the engagement, dedication and flexibilty from this team of people who ensure that we deliver a world class experience for those arriving in Edinburgh on cruise ships. HIGHLY COMMENDED

n Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus, People Like You FINALISTS

n Stagecoach East Midlands, InterConnect Bus Walks n Translink, Glider n Uno, Dragonfly n Yellow Buses, It's easy as 1, 2, 3!

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22/11/2019 17:55

THE AWARD FOR SUSTAINED MARKETING EXCELLENCE Sponsored by

GOLD WINNER

FIRST WEST OF ENGLAND GOING FOR GROWTH

This award is designed to recognise marketing excellence over a sustained period that is likely to be measured in years rather than weeks. The award goes to the organisation that best demonstrates how an active, customerfocused marketing strategy, consistently applied over time, has driven business improvement, won extra journeys and captured new customers, ideally through a shift of travel from car to bus.

In the last 5 years, First in Bristol have seen passenger numbers increase by 52.5%, bucking the national trend of decreasing bus patronage despite challenging conditions in one of the UK’s most congested cities. This has been achieved through simplifying fares, modernising the fleet, switching customers to digital purchases and ongoing community engagement. To achieve these results First employed varied, customer-focussed and in some cases award-winning marketing campaigns, to capture both existing and potential customers through our clear, straight-talking and positive communication style. Campaigns have ranged from customer consultations on major fare overhauls to highly effective student campaigns and switching over 60% of customers to digital purchases with UK-leading mTicket sales. Through initiatives like these, it has seen continued growth in passenger numbers. ■ The judges were very impressed with the conception and execution of what they considered a high risk strategy that came good. Praising First West of England MD James Freeman for taking this initiative, the judges noted extensive customer research and partnership working to produce a scheme that is showing sustained growth in passenger numbers. To have achieved this in a congested city with a confused policy on car park pricing and some aggressive stakeholders, is quite an achievement. SILVER WINNER

UNO PEOPLE AGAINST ORDINARY

Uno Buses is a business focused on delivering an outstanding customer experience by not only investing in its employees, vehicles and technology, but by creating strong brands

that resonate with its target market. In just under three years Uno has invested £3.8m in its route-based marketing strategy. It’s lead by the company’s People Against Ordinary team and it has transformed the customer offering. The team’s mantra ‘ordinary is our enemy, extraordinary is our goal’ has created the motivation and dedication to focus on longterm results. It is delivering significant growth. BRONZE WINNER

STAGECOACH EAST SCOTLAND EXPRESS CITY CONNECT

Stagecoach East Scotland operate bus and coach services throughout Fife, Perthshire, Dundee and Angus, with journeys extending to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Livingston. The company transports a total of 32 million passengers per year. As well as local services, the company’s award winning Express City Connect network connects main towns and cities and is operated by high quality coaches. Recent marketing activity has created modal shift through numerous targeted campaigns. Investment across the network has provided opportunities to promote the high quality services and vehicle features with well-timed campaigns. This has been particularly successful in moving potential users through the consideration phase to create a 12% journey increase on Express services from Fife to Edinburgh. The marketing strategy ensures a consistent and quality brand is portrayed, but with specific campaign activity implemented to highlight either network, service or vehicle improvements as unique customer propositions. FINALIST

■ Transdev Blazefield, Welcome to Coastliner Country

Stagecoach East Scotland

Uno

First West of England MD James Freeman (third from right) and colleagues

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22/11/2019 17:58

VOLVO BUS

Proud sponsors of Top National Bus Driver

Huge congratulations to Jatinder Kumar from Nottingham City Transport, the gold award winner of Top National Bus Driver: the Chris Moyes Memorial Award. The award is presented to the bus driver who has best demonstrated excellent performance from a customer perspective, in the 12-month period to the end of May each year. Jatinder was recognised as an extremely worthy winner of this year’s gold award. Also recognised at the UK Bus Awards were silver award winner Keith Thomas from First Cymru and Gurnham Singh who drives for Stagecoach West. All three men have been highlighted by passengers as going the extra mile. Volvo Bus is very proud to sponsor the Top National Bus Driver award as the company recognises the vital role that drivers play in endorsing vehicles and providing key industry feedback to help us further develop technology.

VOLVO BUS

Wedgnock Lane, Warwick CV34 5YA Tel: 01926 401777, www.volvobuses.co.uk

734986_VB_UK Bus awards_2018_186x134.indd 1

22/11/2019 09:14

We’re all smiles after the UK Bus Awards Congratulations to all the First Bus finalists and winners. Sustained Marketing Excellence: First West of England - Going For Growth (GOLD)

New Horizons: First Glasgow - Mirrorless CCTV Bus Technology Rollout (FINALIST)

Top National Bus Driver: Keith Thomas, First Cymru (SILVER)

Cultural Change: First UK Bus Journey Makers

Making Buses A Better Choice: First West of England – Metrobus (BRONZE)

26_Ad.indd 26

(FINALIST)

25/11/2019 11:01

PEOPLE

TOP NATIONAL BUS DRIVER: THE CHRIS MOYES MEMORIAL AWARD changes, supporting them with issues on the road or delivering exceptional service to his customers with his wide beaming smile, it’s always others who come first. Jatinder has a fantastic employment record, with just 5 days sickness in 11 years; no accidents or complaints on his record and a telematics score that puts him in the top 3% of all 800 drivers at NCT. Customers love Jatinder, with numerous commendations on his file. When he was crowned NCT’s Driver of the Year, he achieved a mystery traveller score of 93% and they described him as someone who “is a perfectionist, doing his job to the maximum with no fuss and a pleasure to travel with. A fantastic asset to NCT”. ■ The judges noted Jatinder’s excellent record of driving and customer service over a sustained period, amplified by the comments of the mystery travellers and the many customer commendations he has received. They also noted his support for other driver colleagues at NCT and that he has been the company’s driver of the year and a worthy gold winner.

Sponsored by

This Award is presented to the bus driver who has best demonstrated excellent performance from the customer perspective in the 12 month period to the end of May each year. To win the title of Top National Bus Driver, entrants need to go that extra mile to provide the customers’ ideal; a driver who is friendly, helpful, conscientious, mindful of passengers’ comfort and wellbeing – in short, a true professional and a worthy ambassador for the job. This award is presented in memory of Chris Moyes, whose distinguished career in the industry was tragically cut short by his death in 2006. Formerly chief executive of Go-Ahead Group, Chris was passionate about the importance of people to the industry.

SILVER WINNER

KEITH THOMAS FIRST CYMRU

GOLD WINNER

JATINDER KUMAR NOTTINGHAM CITY TRANSPORT

Since growing up in a rural Indian village, Jatinder’s always put other people first. Leaving the family home and moving country so he could pay for his sisters’ education, he is one of the most loving, compassionate and caring people you could ever meet. Nothing is too much trouble for Jatinder! Whether it’s helping his colleagues out with shift

Keith Thomas is a driver on a mission, after the Swansea grandfather was given a stoma in a life-changing operation during which his entire bowel was removed to prevent it from rupturing. Keith’s stoma bag is his ‘bag for life’, literally. Shortly after the operation, in 2013 Keith became a driver for First Cymru, and a passionate advocate, raising awareness about the condition, challenging taboos, and encourages people with the same condition to feel confident about stoma bags. He also has been championing the need for greater awareness amongst drivers for hidden

disabilities. Blessed with unbridled positivity, Keith is very popular with passengers and looks after his fellow colleagues: he makes sure every new driver feels at ease in those daunting first few days in the job by meeting them and offer a chat. An avid user of social media, Keith leaves no opportunity unused to flaunt his designer ‘bag for life’ and his twitter feed is rife with his fundraising achievements, such as climbing South Wales’ highest mountain, or doing 5K every week over a year. His unique blend of positivity, advocacy and fundraising for charities attracted the attention of regional and national media. BRONZE WINNER

GURNAM SINGH STAGECOACH WEST

From milkman to bus driver - Gurnam Singh always delivers! In his two years of employment with Stagecoach West Gurnam has generated a record breaking 56 customer commendations and has become its Customer Service Driver of the Year. Gurnam is a true role model for exemplary customer service, safe and smooth driving and he is professional is all aspects of his behaviour. Stagecoach West say they are so proud of Gurnam and his attitude to his role. Gurnam’s safety and environmental credentials through his fantastic on bus telematic scores are second to none and demonstrate that he is a complete package. This isn’t a job to Gurnam, it is a career which he is completely passionate about. FINALISTS

■ Gerard Porter, Translink ■ Tracey Pemberton, Trentbarton ■ Bronagh McDonnell, Ulsterbus

Keith Thomas

Jatinder Kumar

Gurnam Singh

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22/11/2019 18:02

PEOPLE

LEADER OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by

This award is designed to recognise and reward outstanding performance in middle or senior management in the UK bus industry. Urvi Patel

Raj Chandler

Damian Bannon GOLD WINNER

DAMIAN BANNON TRANSLINK

Consulting with the community in his first job as Research Assistant at Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, Damian Bannon recalls the excitement he felt to be working on a vision for Belfast travel. Two decades later, as Belfast Area Manager at Translink he was responsible for leading that vision, delivering a £90m investment in Northern Ireland’s first-ever Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. Launched in 2018, on time and on budget, Glider has revolutionised public transport in the city and continues to herald unprecedented success demonstrated by a £2.7m revenue increase and 25% passenger growth. With over 22-years’ service, including almost 10 years in his current role with a team of 750, Damian oversees the development and delivery of Greater Belfast’s wider passenger network, including Metro and Ulsterbus. Passionately leading substantial change, Damian has been instrumental as the company achieved its best-ever results, recording over 30 million annual passenger journeys. Damian’s highenergy and forward-looking approach has also spearheaded significant innovations, from reforming company culture and

introducing award-winning safety initiatives, to investing in new technologies - all driving Translink’s commitment to being ‘Your first choice for travel in Northern Ireland’. ■ The judges were impressed with what they described as a detailed and inspiring nomination. They picked out Damian’s excellent stakeholder engagement and good business sense, alongside seeing the importance of continuous learning, addressing the gender balance, and being able to see the bigger picture. In short, commented one judge, he ticks all the boxes to be a good leader. SILVER WINNER

RAJ CHANDLER ARRIVA MIDLANDS

Back in 2017, Arriva Derby was in a dire position. The once thriving network was operating at a loss, and failing to achieve across a range of operational KPIs. Passengers were disappearing and the local staff were disengaged. The business needed a new leader. Someone with the strength of character, tenacity and experience to rethink, rebuild and rejuvenate the depot and deliver the people of Derby with an effective, efficient bus network that would meet their needs. Raj Chander has spent his whole career in the bus industry and thrives on driving success,

even in the most difficult of circumstance. His reputation for strategic thinking, multitasking and team building made him the ideal candidate to lead Derby’s resurgence. The impact he has made has been tangible. From a loss making business in 2017, to one generating a 300% year-on-year growth, Raj has exceeded all expectations. BRONZE WINNER

URVI PATEL ABELLIO LONDON

Urvi is a standout leader at Abellio London. In just under four years she has learnt all about the bus business, worked in three different depots and completely turned around performance at one of the most difficult. She’s really good at motivating and developing her team; adding structure, process and consistency to all they do and, importantly, delivering some outstanding results. Her team now consistently perform, are clearly cohesive and all of that is translating into improved customer experience scores and reduced numbers of collisions so passengers are benefitting too. HIGHLY COMMENDED

■ Jamie Crowsley, Arrive Midlands

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22/11/2019 18:07

YOUNG MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by

This award focuses on the talent we will all rely on to deliver our bus services for the next 20 years and more: the young managers, currently delivering and planning services at the sharp end - but whose skills will be vitally important over the coming years as the bus increasingly comes to be seen as an aid to reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change.

GOLD WINNER

JACK ABBOTT STAGECOACH MANCHESTER

Fleet Engineer, Jack Abbot has transformed the performance at Stagecoach Manchester’s Middleton Depot in just 18 months. He took on the challenge to make Middleton a standalone depot, undertaking all engineering work on-site. He has worked extremely hard to motivate and inspire his team to perform to high standards and to continually improve performance. His clear direction and proactive approach is reflected in the depot achieving a reduction in lost mileage and an MOT pass rate of 98%. He is a strong leader and motivator of his team and has made impressive improvements to staff morale and performance during his time at Middleton, achieving a 91% staff satisfaction score in the 2018 staff survey and dramatically reducing turnover from 32% to 5.6%. ■ Having impressed the judges with his meteoric rise from the shop floor to depot manager within ten years - four of which was as an apprentice - they felt that Jack has great potential for higher positions in technical and general management. He shows a good knowledge of wider issues, both in Manchester and the industry in general. He is passionate about his staff and giving them the skills they need to do their jobs effectively. Jack’s path into management should provide inspiration for other shop floor staff.

Manager at First Southampton. She joined Go South Coast in June 2016 as an Assistant Operations Manager for the Salisbury Reds brand and her career has continued to progress. She is now Assistant Operations Manager for the prestigious Unilink contract for the University of Southampton, managing a team of 79 drivers and 29 buses. BRONZE WINNER

ADAM GREEN ARRIVA KENT AND SURREY

Adam joined Arriva’s graduate scheme but owing to a series of leadership changes his need for support and assistance was overlooked. Rather than ‘accept’ the situation, Adam directly challenged it and used it to his advantage. Since then he has soared and he is now the highly effective Operations Manager at Maidstone Depot. Adam has a determined approach to life and ‘gets’ the need for a high quality bus service to serve his customer. He

has completely realigned his Duty Manager team through spending time with them oneto-one to understand their needs and their hopes. He motivated them as a clever first step towards removing the former bad feeling between ‘management’ and drivers. Alongside this he has recast measures and monitoring to ensure a focus on leading indicators to drive better performance where it matters (absence, lost mileage and complaints) and not on ‘data’ for the stake of it. Stakeholder engagement is another area that Adam has worked hard to get right and he has managed to turn stakeholder perceptions, particularly his local trade union representative and the Maidstone Schools Liaison Committee which he has steadily turned from foe to friend thanks to hard work and delivering improvements. FINALISTS

■ Ben Coghlan, Stagecoach Manchester ■ Elizabeth Richards, Stagecoach West

Jack Abbott

SILVER WINNER

KERRIE GRANT GO SOUTH COAST - BLUESTAR

After studying for her Psychology and Sociology degree at the University of Stirling, Kerrie wanted a career choice that would put this to good use. So, she knew it had to be an industry with a people focus – buses were the obvious answer (or perhaps challenge!), as she was a regular user of the bus service whilst studying. Kerrie joined FirstGroup on their graduate programme and at the end of her two-year training, became an Acting Staff

Adam Green

Kerrie Grant

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22/11/2019 18:12

PEOPLE

UNSUNG HEROES AWARD

Sheila Swift

Sponsored by

This award is presented to one or more individuals who perform junior or middle management roles in the industry and are known for their hard work, loyalty and devotion to duty. In many cases, the ‘Unsung Heroes’ are those who keep the wheels turning against the odds; no transport operator can do without such people – even though they often slave away for years with no recognition save their own satisfaction in a service delivered and a job well done.

GOLD WINNER

SHEILA SWIFT NOTTINGHAM CITY TRANSPORT

Sheila’s love, commitment and dedication to Nottingham City Transport over nearly four decades is unquestionable and her very thorough knowledge of the company places her in a unique position of being able to answer every question thrown at her. Joining the company in 1981 as a short-hand typist, Sheila has progressed to be NCT’s HR Admin Manager, where she has overall responsibility for recruitment, making sure NCT’s rules, policies and procedures are followed and delivering many HR projects. In a difficult recruitment climate where driver shortage is pandemic across the industry, Sheila has defied the odds and moved NCT from a driver deficit to surplus within the space of 12 months. Sheila also played a fundamental role in ensuring NCT was compliant with GDPR

regulations in 2018. She won NCT’s Unsung Hero Award in 2019 with a unanimous judges vote, with the opening remark on her nomination form summing her up best: “Cut Sheila open and her blood would be NCT green”. n The judges noted Sheila’s outstanding contribution over 37 years in the many roles she has undertaken. She has always been keen to take on new responsibilities and devoted to the company. She’s also been instrumental in achieving the enviable position of recruiting a surplus of bus drivers, something with which many companies have struggled. SPECIALLY COMMENDED

n Chuk Ejakita, RATP Dev London n Eddie Hollis, RATP Dev London n Craig Trueman, Trentbarton n Roy Barrett, RATP Dev London n Mitesh Patel, Metroline

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22/11/2019 18:14

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by

This award is designed to recognise, reward and inspire management talent in the engineering disciplines of the UK bus industry. The award is promoted with the assistance of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers. It is open to all people employed at, or above, the supervisory grade in the engineering function of bus operating, maintenance or manufacturing companies or organisations. Shortlisted nominees are required to make a presentation to the judges, and take part in a question and answer session with them.

GOLD WINNER

SILVER WINNER

STEPHEN STRINGER WARRINGTON’S OWN BUSES

JACK ABBOTT STAGECOACH MANCHESTER

Stephen is Warrington Buses through and through. He is everything you want from a Head of Engineering and more. His team’s results speak for themselves: 100% MOT pass rate; green OCRS; no PG9s; FTA & Backhouse Jones inspections highly rated; and lost mileage below 0.1%. Stephen has put together an excellent team and he looks for Engineers who ‘gel’ as a group. He is a mentor to everyone, from 17-year old apprentice, Ben Harper to Tommy Melia the company’s longest serving Fitter. He recognises team performance in meetings, appraisals and with a lunch every Friday. Stephen is also a key component of the Leadership Team. Working across departments and traditional boundaries. He contributes to the Business Plan and Budget and understands the vision for Warrington’s Own Buses. He overachieves when it comes to labour and parts spend and has recently concluded a sensitive reorganisation of cleaning and engineering, avoiding any industrial action and stressing the benefits to the group. Finally, also speaheads rebrand and safety campaigns. ■ A well written entry with plenty of detail and good evidence that he is clearly an asset to the company was how the judges summarised Stephen Stringer’s entry. Having worked his way up from starting as an apprentice, he is a role model to others and has an excellent approach to mentoring and bringing on new talent through team engagement and delegation. The judges noted that he travels daily on the company’s buses and regularly engages with customers, cementing the link between engineering and passengers.

PAUL SLANEY TRANSLINK

Public transport in Belfast underwent generational change when the Glider Bus Rapid Transit service launched in September 2018. It entailed transformation of Translink’s Engineering operation in Belfast. Paul Slaney was the Engineering Lead in equipping Translink for this challenging project. Glider vehicles had to stand out from the crowd and attract clientele out of private cars, so working within guidelines from the Department for Infrastructure, Paul developed the detailed specification and led the engineering side of the procurement, culminating in purchase of 30 Van Hool Exquicity vehicles. Paul successfully designed an extensive proving program to ensure a “big bang” entry into service was successfully achieved. FINALISTS

■ Leon Hall, Arriva Southern Counties ■ Jake Moore, Nottingham City Transport ■ Darren Richmomnd, Uno

Jack Abbott

Paul Slaney (left)

Stephen Stringer (centre)

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22/11/2019 18:18

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25/11/2019 12:01

PEOPLE

SERVICES TO THE INDUSTRY

Mark Fowles

Sponsored by

The award for Services to the Bus Industry recognises a significant and sustained contribution to the success of the industry by an individual who has gone consistently beyond the call of normal duty to improve and promote the bus industry for its users or the wider community. The annual recipient of the award is decided by the management committee.

GOLD WINNER

MARK FOWLES NOTTINGHAM CITY TRANSPORT

Mark Fowles has had a long and distinguished career in the bus and wider transport industry - and it is not over yet! The most recent chapter saw him joining Nottingham City Transport as Deputy MD in 1994 with specific responsibility for delivering the Nottingham Express Tram project. He managed to take the project through all the many challenges associated with a major infrastructure project which is routed through the centre of a city.

In 2001 he became Managing Director of NCT. Under his leadership, NCT has become synonymous with high standards, innovation and a clear intent to put passengers at the heart of everything it does. From the major revamp of the bus network with the use of extensive route branding to innovations such as working with Scania to develop the first gas powered double deckers and on to Nottingham having the highest level of bus usage by its citizens outside of London - the plaudits have never stopped. As a consequence, NCT has enjoyed fulsome recognition at the UK Bus Awards by being crowned top operator no less than 4 times before today. Mark has also contributed to the wider industry through his involvement with CPT and Album. Mark was Chairman of ALBUM for just one year in 2017, sandwiched between Ben Colson and Bill Hiron. However, perhaps what you can say is that he has been a member of the ALBUM Executive for around 10 years, and has played a very active part in formulating ALBUM policy throughout that time, notably helping put together ALBUM’s responses to the consultations leading up to the recent Transport Act, and raising the profile of ALBUM with government and the wider industry. He has also been Chairman of Traveline

for a number of years, doing an excellent job on behalf of the wider industry steering that organisation through a very difficult time, not least with the reduction of phone enquiries as a result of the growth in use of internet information, and bringing together the industry (and at times some quite disparate views) about the future of the provision of bus service information. In particular, he took on responsibility for steering Traveline through changes to its funding and structure which has significantly reduced the call for funding from the industry and has put it in a great position to help with the government’s pursuit of open data. Also of note was the one day seminar arranged by him for local authorities contemplating setting up their own bus companies as part of the continual debate around greater regulation. The day was based on the use of realistic scenarios and costs which demonstrated to participants that setting up a bus operation from scratch would soak up far greater funds than most had assumed. Mark also has run a fund raising group with his wife, Natalie for Muscular Dystrophy UK, inspired by his daughter being one of 70,000 children and adults affected by this condition in the UK. Mark is a truly inspirational leader and one fully deserving of the “Services to the Bus Industry” Award.

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22/11/2019 18:20

LONDON AWARDS

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON AWARD FOR LONDON BUS GARAGE OF THE YEAR Sponsored by

This is the award which benchmarks the performance of bus garages in London, and rewards the best with a cash prize to be used on facilities to benefit the team that delivers the best service on a day-to-day basis. GOLD WINNER

NORWOOD ARRIVA LONDON

Team Norwood continually strives for excellence and has implemented further improvements over the past year. The garage has consistently performed in the top quarter of the TfL league tables and built upon its performance strategies to include enhanced root cause analysis as part of its transformation programme aimed at reducing waste and improving efficiency to not only help prevent breakdowns but

improve service reliability. Staff engagement and morale has been strengthened with personal development initiatives for supervisors, open forums and newsletters to keep everyone motivated towards target areas. The garage has recently invested in new toilet and canteen facilities as well as various engineering improvements. The team also works closely with the local community, and have created an acclaimed wildlife garden in partnership with local volunteers. It also runs regular awareness campaigns, recently focussing on vehicle accessibility with the help of TfL and local user groups. A hall of fame photoboard enables managers to congratulate and recognise staff. n The judges commented that Norwood is one of Arriva London’s larger garages in a difficult operating area and has not always been associated with high performance - but it is now! This comprehensive entry detailed many good initiatives including the Bzz Garden and a focus on safety. The systematic approach by the Norwood team has pushed them ahead to be worthy gold winners.

SILVER WINNER

ROMFORD STAGECOACH LONDON

Romford Garage has been providing services to the community since 1953 and has always been at the top of its game. For many years there was a long waiting list of drivers wishing to transfer in, resulting in a mature and experienced workforce. Times change and new people are now joining, bringing the latest ideas and knowledge. There’s no “them and us” at Romford, the garage says they are one team of 300 drivers, 19 engineers and 8 managers and administrators. The garage is an established part of the local community, being involved with schools and charitable organisations, Macmillan Cancer Care in particular, as well as fostering an enviable relationship with the local police. BRONZE WINNER

CROYDON GO-AHEAD LONDON

Go-Ahead London’s Croydon Garage is a forward thinking, well managed and collaborative garage. Its performance results show that its routes are well managed and reliable, with notable year-on-year improvements. The garage’s great team spirit and “can do” approach ensures that passengers receive a consistent high-quality service. Staff are happy to be working there and this can be seen through engagement and reduction in turnover. They are proud to provide a safe, accessible, and friendly bus service and the garage’s team act as the foundations from which they can push innovation and improvement year on year. The garage embraces pioneering technology, trialling systems for fatigue awareness and most recently the new SmartVision camera system that replaces conventional mirrors on the exterior of buses. FINALISTS

n Alperton, Metroline Norwood

Croydon

Romford

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22/11/2019 18:21

LUKE REES-PULLEY CHARITABLE TRUST AWARD FOR TOP LONDON BUS DRIVER SILVER WINNER

NICK KUKAJ ABELLIO LONDON

Nick started with Abellio London in February this year and since the very beginning it became clear that he is literally one of a kind and that he was born to be a bus driver. He has such passion and enthusiasm for his job, taking pride in every aspect of his work and esuring that he consistently delivers the very best customer service. Whenever he arrives for work he is upbeat, beaming from ear to ear and his happiness and positivity is infectious. Nothing is ever too much for him and going above and beyond is something Nick just does as a standard. Nick understands passenger expectations and needs are and he delivers this in a positive and highly professional manner. He tries to help his fellow colleagues whenever he can be it either by a kind word and a smile if they are having a bad day or by giving examples of what he would do or does in difficult situations. Nick is the very personification of the perfect London bus driver and he deserves to be recognised for the amazing job he does day-in and day-out!

Wasiq Ali

BRONZE WINNER

PETER HUTTLY GO-AHEAD LONDON

Peter Huttly

Sponsored by

Nick Kukaj GOLD WINNER

WASIQ ALI RATP DEV LONDON

Luke Rees-Pulley was passionate about buses throughout his life, which was tragically cut short by murder. The trust founded in his name seeks to rekindle the pride and status of bus drivers in the capital to the levels seen in the 1930s - when to be a bus driver was to be a respected professional providing an essential service. This award is part of that process, recognising and rewarding top quality service and commitment. The award is presented to the London bus driver who has best demonstrated excellent performance from the customer perspective in the 12-month period to the end of June each year.

We really do believe that Wasiq embodies all that is great about the world-renowned London bus driver - and it all comes so naturally to him. Wasiq is an outstanding driver who looks the part, acts the part, and IS the part, a true professional who not only delights his customers but is also a real pleasure to work with. ■ When the judges assessed the many entries for this category, there was one that stood out from the others. Wasiq is a Hello London Champion, makes good use of the PA, and is a great role model for other drivers. He is always looking out for his passengers, such as getting out of his seat to help an elderly lady on and off the bus, assisting a customer who was having an asthma attack, and using the PA to inform some passengers new to London where they needed to alight. Needless to say, he’s had numerous customer commendations summed up by: “The driver’s action brought tears of joy to passengers on the bus.”

Peter has worked at Go-AHead London’s Orpington Garage for six years. He always comes to work with an approachable and understanding attitude which never falters. He makes his passengers his priority and cares greatly about the impression of the company he gives to his customers. He is passionate about providing the best service he can, accompanied with a smile and friendly greeting. This is reflected by the Certificate of Achievement he was awarded for Outstanding Achievement by way of a Customer Commendation and the many letters of praise he has received. Peter is a Hello London Champion for Orpington and was a finalist for the UK Bus Awards 2016 and shortlisted for the London Bus Awards in 2017. He continues to provide a consistently high level of customer service everyday which never seems to waiver. Instead of others influencing his mood and attitude, he keeps stead-fast with his bright and bubbly nature which has a positive effect on everyone else he comes into contact with. Peter is a real credit to not only Orpington Garage, but also to Go-Ahead London. FINALISTS

■ Andres Austin-Bennett, Abellio London ■ David Harris, Arriva London ■ Christine Watkins, Arriva London ■ Simon Ellis, Go-Ahead London ■ Agnieszka Narbut, Metroline

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22/11/2019 18:25

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25/11/2019 11:21

JUDGING ENTRIES

F There may have been some changes, explains Mark Yexley, Chairman of the UK Bus Awards, but the process behind the judging of the UK Bus Awards remains as diligent and probing as ever

or many years John Owen has been the Convenor of Judges and has presided over the fair, impartial and well-run judging and mystery travelling process which have underpinned the UK Bus Awards. Quite simply the Awards would have been devalued by anything less than this and would not have been able to deliver on its mission to “recognise, reward and inspire “. John has played a major part in all this and so it was a degree of nervousness that I found myself stepping into his shoes as Convenor from this year. We realised that after some years of muttering that he wanted to step back a bit, John really meant it this time and we needed to work out how we were going to make this change. Fortunately, John has been ever willing to help with an extended handover and, indeed, to work closely with me so it has been a smooth transition. We owe John a huge debt of gratitude for all he has done in overseeing the judging and mystery travelling for literally years. We have made other changes at the same time and I am grateful to Gordon Tennant and Malcolm Robson for stepping up to chair some of the judging panels with John covering the remainder. We also introduced some new faces to the judging panels and gave some others the chance to step down after years of volunteering their services. We still have over 40 people from a wide range of backgrounds and organisations covering the whole of the UK giving their time freely to assess the large number of entries and/or mystery travelling to make sure that the claims made in entries are matched by what happens on the ground. We also remain indebted to Gavin Booth and Bus Users UK for organising the service quality checks and the mystery travelling which are crucial to informing the final decisions. We always keep the UK Bus Awards themselves under review so that they remain fresh and relevant, keeping up with the rapidly changing environment in which bus companies live. It was very evident that, notwithstanding all the financial pressures, there were some fascinating and impressive examples of businesses putting significant time and effort into training, development, apprenticeships, diversity and other initiatives aimed at changing attitudes and outlooks. We introduced the Cultural Change award this year to provide a shop window for all this great work and were deeply impressed by the entries for this new award. We also used the Cultural Change award to change our approach to the way entries are submitted. We moved away from an entry form with a series of scored headings to a more open invitation to explain what the

initiative was all about and why it stood out from the crowd. It seems to have worked well and we will look at introducing this blank canvass approach to some of the other awards too. We also reviewed the way entries are scored as a means of putting greater weight on, for example, the KPIs and financial results for companies when assessing the operator of the year awards. The scoring is not the final word on the outcome of each award which is where the judging panels come into play. For the judges there is a considerable amount of time needed to read, assess and score every entry and to take on board all the supporting information – and that is before coming to London to join up with the panel to reach final decisions. As ever, the judges had some very hard choices to make. Even drawing up the shortlists, never mind agreeing on the Gold, Silver, Bronze award winners, was far from straightforward at times such has been the general quality of entries. That reflects well on the range of good and great things going on within the bus industry but there are many times when we can anticipate the disappointment which will be felt when a very strong entry is narrowly trumped by a slightly more compelling one. It is impossible to exaggerate how close some of these VAR like decisions are or to emphasise how being shortlisted is a fine achievement and, even more so, to end up with any of the actual awards. At the same time there is often frustration on the part of the judges when strong looking entries are undone by the way they are presented. We provide criteria and guidelines for each award which should provide some useful hooks to hang the content of an entry on. There is also a word limit to set some boundaries for how long and detailed an entry needs to be. So it is disappointing when the way an entry is presented, ignores these pointers for setting out the best case possible for the judges to look at. It is also worth adding that the supporting information has a big part to play in adding colour and more detail and weight to what has been written up in the entry. Statistics and graphs will always carry more weight than ¾ view shots of buses for example. The best entries are punchy, to the point and contain statistics or other references to support what is being claimed. The worst are the wordy essays, laden with superlatives and bereft of facts and figures. Enough said, but hopefully a clear steer on how to make a submission which will do justice to its subject. Finally, we are always wide open to suggestions on how we could change and improve the UK Bus Awards so that they remain relevant and a firm part of bus industry life.

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Thank you UK Bus Awards 2019 and congratulations to the winners! Alzheimer Scotland is Scotlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading dementia charity. There are over 90,000 people across Scotland living with a diagnosis of dementia. As this number continues to rise, we need to make dementia care, prevention and awareness a national priority. We know that strong and accessible bus links play a vital role in helping to support people with dementia to remain active, social and independent. Working in partnership, we can create a positive travel experience for people with dementia across all UK bus service routes. To get involved, contact Claire Du Preez on cdupreez@alzscot.org

Alzheimer Scotland - Action on Dementia is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland 149069. Recognised as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, no. SC022315 160 Dundee Street, Edinburgh, EH11 1DQ, 0131 243 1453, www.alzscot.org

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SPONSORSHIP

AWARD SPONSORS

We are grateful to our sponsors and supporters. Their support is vital to the UK Bus Awards

atronage and Sponsorship, are the life blood of Industry success. Without our supporters none of this would be possible. Particularly in current times with ever increasing demands on spending, it is a fantastic reflection on the organisations in our Industry that they support the projects and people that make it shine. In particular our Patrons and Major Sponsors, who have been constant supporters since the inception of the Awards a quarter of a century ago! Thank you. The UK Bus Awards sole purpose is the promotion of the UK Bus Industry, our aim is to provide a stage for the very best to be recognised and rewarded, by this inspire others and themselves to greater things. The Bus Industry provides a constantly high level of service and customer satisfaction to its passengers. It is only right that this is highlighted and celebrated. Our scheme is independently run as a not for dividend company. Each year we have the pleasure of seeing hundreds of entries in categories that cover the best in, Operations,

Technical, Professional and People Awards. All entries are judged by a panel of Industry experts who represent all areas of the Industry and are fully independent of the Awards. A massive thank you to our Industry partners for continuing to celebrate the very best that Buses have to offer! The Awards are the Premier event in the Bus Industry calendar, with networking and business opportunities second to none. This is why the awards represent the best possible vehicle through which to get your message seen and heard. The annual presentation ceremony provides an excellent occasion for memorable corporate hospitality and with the additional benefit from the prestige and authority of the awards. If you could walk among hundreds of potential customers for a few hours and at some point get your message across to them all at once, what would you pay? Our event offers a unique opportunity to do just that. No other marketing is so targeted and direct. Attracting circa 700 guests from 200 companies and organisations within the Bus Industry. Our 2020 event will be the 25th consecutive year for the Awards and we look forward immensely to building on all the previous work to make the Bus Industry in the UK the envy of the world.

PATRONS