Council-owned operator wins coveted prize and Stagecoach tops the medal table as UK Bus Awards returns for first in-person presentation since 2019

 
Koli Begum, of Go-Ahead London was the gold winner for the Luke Rees-Pulley Award for Top London Bus Driver, sponsored by The Luke Rees-Pulley Charitable Trust and TfL

 
Blackpool Transport is celebrating after winning the coveted UK Bus Operator of the Year Award at the UK Bus Awards in London. The company was also named the winner of the Gold Award in the Top Shire Operator category before fending off competition from Diamond Bus North West and Hertfordshire-based operator Uno to win the top gong in the Grand-Prix competition that pits the winners of the Top City, Top Shire and Top Independent Operator Awards against one another.

Blackpool’s win followed a pause by the industry’s premier awards scheme over the last two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. People, projects and bus operators came together at Troxy, London to once again compete for the top awards across 22 categories at the scheme’s first in-person presentation ceremony held since 2019.

It was also a rewarding afternoon for Stagecoach. Britain’s biggest bus operator topped the medal table with 21 Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. It was the gold winner in seven categories:

  • Bus and the Community (The Friendship Bus by Stagecoach South East)
  • Engineer of the Year (Stagecoach Manchester’s Jamie Stockton)
  • The ROSCO Award for Contribution to Safer Driving (Intelligent Speed Assistance by Stagecoach East and Volvo Bus)
  • Supporting the Environment (Stagecoach East ‘Big Switch off’)
  • Top Express Coach Operation (Oxford Tube)
  • Top National Bus Depot (Barrow)
  • Unsung Heroes (Stagecoach Manchester’s Lesley Hester)

It was the perfect birthday present for Nottingham City Transport bus driver Jonathan Smallman. He took the gold in the Top National Bus Driver: The Chris Moyes Memorial Award category, marking the fourth time a bus driver from the council-owned bus company has won the gold at a UK Bus Awards ceremony.

In the capital, Go-Ahead London’s Koli Begum enthusiastically took to the stage to take gold in the Luke Rees-Pulley Award for Top London Bus Driver category and there was more good news for the London operator as its Putney garage received a gold in the London Bus Garage of the Year category.

In the Young Manager category, Hayley Russell from FlixBus UK took the gold ahead of silver award winner Zachary McAskill from Stagecoach Manchester. The bronze in that category went to talented Stagecoach London engineer Ben Houghton.

Meanwhile, Jim Thorpe, managing director of Uno was the gold winner of the Leader of the Year award. In this category Stagecoach South East boss Joel Mitchell took the silver with the bronze award bagged by Samantha Teggart of Abellio London Bus.

The Services to the Bus Industry Award sponsored by Passenger Transport, was presented to Peter Crichton, founder of specialist software company Omnibus.

Transdev also had some notable successes, taking golds in the Buses for Pleasure sponsored and Culture Change categories. The Harrogate-based firm also took silver awards in the Marketing, Partnering for Delivery and Supporting the Customer Experience categories.

After a tumultuous couple of years as a result of the pandemic, it’s fantastic to see the dedication, creativity and excellence of the UK bus industry have not diminished

Alan Millar, chair of the UK Bus Awards, said: “After a tumultuous couple of years as a result of the pandemic, it’s fantastic to see the dedication, creativity and excellence of the UK bus industry have not diminished. We are particularly pleased to have celebrated the best in the business, from small, family-owned businesses to the very large multinational transport groups, including several who entered the scheme for the very first time.

“We’re honoured to have been able to recognise and celebrate the industry’s successes, achievements, innovations, dedication and sheer brilliance. All those celebrating today should feel proud that they have played their part in helping to deliver a first-class experience for bus passengers across the UK. From everyone at the UK Bus Awards, we would like to say a huge congratulations to everyone involved.”

 

The UK Bus Awards 2022 Winners

Bus and the Community sponsored by Heathrow

  • Winner, Gold Award: The Friendship Bus, Stagecoach South East
  • Winner, Silver Award: Go North East
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Sam’s Wellbeing on Wheels, Stagecoach East Scotland
  • Finalist: Bus Depot on Weston Street, Diamond Bus North West
  • Finalist: Electric Bus Viewing, RATP Dev Transit London
  • Finalist: Ensignbus
  • Finalist: Forever Manchester, Stagecoach Manchester

Buses for Pleasure sponsored by Coach & Bus Week

  • Winner, Gold Award: Greetings from Yorkshire, Transdev
  • Winner, Silver Award: Toon Tour, Seasider X11 and the X75, Go North East
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Explore the Lakes by Bus, Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire Finalist: 575A, Diamond Bus North West
  • Finalist: Clipper Cabriolet, First Eastern Counties
  • Finalist: Exmoor Coaster, First South West
  • Finalist: Skegness Seasiders, Stagecoach East Midlands

Culture Change

  • Winner, Gold Award: The Transdev Spirit, Transdev
  • Winner, Silver Award: One Team GNE, Go North East
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Safety Strategy Forum, Stagecoach London
  • Finalist: Learning and Development Team, Abellio London Bus
  • Finalist: Let’s talk equality, diversity and inclusion, Stagecoach London
  • Finalist: Service Delivery Team, Stagecoach South East

Engineer of the Year sponsored by IRTE

  • Winner, Gold Award: Jamie Stockton, Stagecoach Manchester
  • Winner, Silver Award: Craig Mills, Stagecoach London
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Mick Branigan, Diamond Bus North West
  • Finalist: Darren Bull, RATP Dev Transit London

Leader of the Year sponsored by Bus & Coach Buyer

  • Winner, Gold Award: Jim Thorpe, Uno
  • Winner, Silver Award: Joel Mitchell, Stagecoach South East
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Samantha Teggart, Abellio London Bus
  • Finalist: Bill Daly, Stagecoach London
  • Finalist: Ken Fennell, Abellio London Bus

London Bus Garage of the Year sponsored by Transport for London

  • Winner, Gold Award: Putney, Go-Ahead London
  • Winner, Silver Award: Bow, Stagecoach London
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Brixton, Arriva London
  • Finalist: Beddington, Abellio London Bus
  • Finalist: Lea Interchange, Stagecoach London
  • Finalist: Uxbridge, Metroline

Luke Rees-Pulley Award for Top London Bus Driver sponsored by The Luke Rees-Pulley Charitable Trust and TfL

  • Winner, Gold Award: Koli Begum, Go-Ahead London
  • Winner, Silver Award: Wolfgang Chindamo, Metroline
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Domingos Goncalves, RATP Dev Transit London
  • Finalist: Aliya Aleskerova, Metroline
  • Finalist: Kellie Heard, Stagecoach London
  • Finalist: Nimish Jamnadas, RATP Dev Transit London
  • Finalist: Mohamed Maow, RATP Dev Transit London
  • Finalist: Porpin Owusu, Metroline

Marketing sponsored by Coach & Bus 23

  • Winner, Gold Award: Jobs with Real Purpose, Go North East
  • Winner, Silver Award: Transformation at TeamPennine, Transdev
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Cornwall Bus Fares Pilot Launch, Cornwall Council Finalist: A Day in the Life series, Stagecoach South East
  • Finalist: Saving Money for Salford, Diamond Bus North West

Partnering for Delivery: The Peter Huntley Memorial Award

  • Winner, Gold Award: Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme, First West Yorkshire and partners
  • Winner, Silver Award: The Freeway Approach, Transdev and Harrogate BID
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Analyse Bus Open Data, ito World
  • Finalist: Leicester Enhanced Bus Partnership, Leicester Bus Partnership
  • Finalist: Nottingham Contactless, Nottingham City Transport and partners
  • Finalist: Transport for Cornwall, Cornwall Council and partners

ROSCO Award for Contribution to Safer Driving sponsored by ROSCO

  • Winner, Gold Award: Intelligent Speed Assistance, Stagecoach East and Volvo Bus
  • Winner, Silver Award: Tailored Ticketer Road Restriction Alerts, Ticketer and Reliance Motor Services
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Safety Strategy Forum, Stagecoach London

Services to the Bus Industry sponsored by Passenger Transport

  • Winner, Gold Award: Peter Crichton

Supporting the Customer Experience sponsored by Tracsis

  • Winner, Gold Award: Push Messaging, Grant Palmer
  • Winner, Silver Award: Sky Class, Transdev
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Freeflow, Oxford Bus Company
  • Finalist: Flexible Contactless Capping, Brighton & Hove and Metrobus
  • Finalist: Cornwall Bus Fares Pilot, Cornwall Council
  • Finalist: Ticketing and Partnerships, Diamond Bus North West
  • Finalist: Nottingham Contactless, Nottingham City Transport and partners

Supporting the Environment sponsored by CitySwift

  • Winner, Gold Award: Big Switch off, Stagecoach East
  • Winner, Silver Award: Electrifying Caledonia, First Glasgow
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Biggest Zero Emission Park & Ride Fleet, First York
  • Finalist: New Vehicles for Manchester, Diamond Bus North West
  • Finalist: Zero Emission Project, Translink
  • Finalist: Nottingham’s Green Euro Vl Fleet, Nottingham City Transport

Top Express Coach Operation sponsored by Volvo

  • Winner, Gold Award: Oxford Tube
  • Winner, Silver Award: RailAir 1 and 2

Top National Bus Depot sponsored by Integrated Solutions

  • Winner, Gold Award: Barrow, Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
  • Winner, Silver Award: Portree, Stagecoach North Scotland
  • Winner, Bronze Award: St Andrews, Stagecoach East Scotland

Top National Bus Driver: The Chris Moyes Memorial Award sponsored by Personal Group

  • Winner, Gold Award: Jonathan Smallman, Nottingham City Transport
  • Winner, Silver Award: Darren Dalton, Preston Bus
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Gurnam Singh, Stagecoach West
  • Finalist: Ama Adae-Bosmpra, Uno
  • Finalist: Grzegorz Ranis, Uno

Top City Operator sponsored by Init Innovations

  • Winner, Gold Award: Diamond Bus North West
  • Winner, Silver Award: Abellio London Bus

Top Independent Operator

  • Winner, Gold Award: Uno
  • Winner, Silver Award: Ensignbus
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Grant Palmer

Top Shire Operator sponsored by Ticketer

  • Winner, Gold Award: Blackpool Transport
  • Winner, Silver Award: Stagecoach East Scotland
  • Finalist: Stagecoach East

UK Bus Operator of the Year sponsored by Gallagher and QBE Insurance

  • Winner, Gold Award: Blackpool Transport
  • Winner, Silver Award: Diamond Bus North West
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Uno

Unsung Heroes sponsored by Backhouse Jones

  • Winner, Gold Award: Lesley Hester, Stagecoach Manchester
  • Specially Commended: Aafreeda Merican, Abellio London Bus
  • Specially Commended: Kolawole ‘Kola’ Obasa, Metroline
  • Specially Commended: Glenn Oldman, Stagecoach London
  • Specially Commended: Louise Sills, Stagecoach South East
  • Specially Commended: Steph Smith, Diamond Bus North West
  • Specially Commended: James Third, Stagecoach South East

Young Manager of the Year

  • Winner, Gold Award: Hayley Russell, FlixBus
  • Winner, Silver Award: Zachary McAskill, Stagecoach Manchester
  • Winner, Bronze Award: Ben Houghton, Stagecoach London
  • Finalist: Daniel Bowden, Stagecoach East Midlands
  • Finalist: Thomas Calderbank, Diamond Bus North West
  • Finalist: Michelle Doyle, Stagecoach West

 
This story appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.

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