20 November 2019
Nottingham City Transport is celebrating having won five of the top gongs at the 2019 UK Bus Awards in London today, including the highly contested ‘best in show’ category, UK Bus Operator of the Year and Top National Bus Driver.
Jatinder Kumar took the Top National Bus Driver title sponsored by Volvo Bus, this is the third consecutive year a bus driver from Nottingham City Transport has won the gold. The company’s Managing Director Mark Fowles was presented with the Services to the Bus Industry honour sponsored by Buses Magazine, and Sheila Swift won the Unsung Hero accolade sponsored by Backhouse Jones, recognising her 37 years of dedicated service at the company.
The team also took the gold in the Top City Operator category sponsored by INIT Innovations, which saw them through to the grand final where they went on to win the Bus Operator of the Year, sponsored by Gallagher & QBE Insurance.
Stagecoach UK Bus is also celebrating having won a breath-taking thirteen awards. The company’s outstanding performance saw them take home four golds, five silver and four bronze.
Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire won the gold in the Top Shire Operator title, closely followed by colleagues at Stagecoach East Scotland who claimed the silver in the same category. The gold win saw Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire go on to contest the Bus Operator of the Year 2019, they triumphantly came away with the silver.
Stagecoach Manchester’s Fleet Engineer Jack Abbott was crowned the Young Manager of the Year, as well as being awarded the silver in his quest for Engineer of the Year. Jack is based at the Middleton Depot in Manchester, he has worked hard to motivate and inspire to create a high-performance team.
Translink also put in a stellar performance which saw them take gold in the Making Buses a Better Choice: the Peter Huntley Memorial Award, sponsored by Heathrow, and Damian Bannon, Belfast Area Manager at Translink was crowned Leader of the Year, sponsored by Euro Bus Expo 2020.
The flagship Belfast Rapid Transit Glider system was launched in September 2018 and is now playing a key role in the sustainable growth of Belfast.
The company also took silver in the Bus and the Community award, and two bronze accolades, one in the Rosco Innovation in Safety category, and the other went to Paul Slaney in his quest for the Engineer of the Year title.
Oxford Bus Company also had some great successes, the team took the top gold award in the Bus and the Community category sponsored by CBW, silver in both the Making Buses a Better Choice, and the Cultural Change category, and bronze in the Top Shire Operator, sponsored by Ticketer.
The gold went to the company’s ‘Brand the Bus!’ initiative which provides local charities and other good causes with an opportunity to promote themselves by branding one of its buses.
Mark Yexley, Chairman for the UK Bus Awards, said: “This year has seen some tremendous performances from companies and organisations up and down the country. We’re honoured to be able to recognise excellence and innovations within the industry. All those celebrating today should feel proud that they have played their part in helping to deliver a first-class experience for passengers across the UK. From everyone at the UK Bus Awards we would like to say a huge congratulations to everyone involved.”
