Nominations now open until late July for 23 awards recognising outstanding skills in planning, promoting, and delivering exceptional bus services
The 2023 winners will be announced at Troxy, London in November
The UK Bus Awards 2023 has officially launched, opening its doors for entries until late July. Nominations are now invited to compete for 23 awards that recognise excellence in the full spectrum of skills needed to plan, promote, and deliver exceptional bus services.
Building on the success of the 2022 awards, which marked the triumphant return of the ‘in-person’ presentation ceremony following the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2023 edition brings forth a series of exciting changes based on valuable feedback from participants and judges.
The award categories are continuously reviewed to ensure they remain up-to-date and relevant, aligning with the current and future trends in the bus industry. Consequently, several categories have been renamed, and the entry criteria for various awards have been revised for the 2023 edition.
“We work hard to ensure that the awards remain relevant, and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. For that reason, we have introduced some changes for 2023,” explained UK Bus Awards chairman Alan Millar.
“These revised categories will see us introduce new or revised awards for Buses for Leisure, Enriching the Customer Experience, Environmental Innovation, Going for Growth, a Lifetime Contribution to the Bus Industry award, Manager of the Year, Marketing Campaign of the Year and Top Express Service.
“We have also revised our previous Partnering for Delivery award to reflect the greater emphasis on operators working collaboratively with stakeholders in the post-National Bus Strategy environment. This award now becomes the Partnership for Delivery award and remains dedicated to the memory of Peter Huntley.”
We work hard to ensure that the awards remain relevant, and adapt to rapidly changing circumstances
Millar emphasises that entries from local authorities and other stakeholders will be once again welcomed and encouraged. He continued: “Categories such as Bus and the Community, Buses for Leisure, Going for Growth and Marketing Campaign of the Year are ideal for authorities and partnerships to enter, so we very much hope to see entries in those contests. We know that there are lots of things happening out there, so we want to hear about them!”
Meanwhile, Millar also says recognition to the people that play a role in the delivery of bus services remains at the heart of the awards scheme: “The people categories remain a vital part of our work, and we very much hope that operators, local authorities and other bodies will nominate their top performing staff in 2023 – recognising and rewarding a job well done is so important – boosting morale, improving employee relations and delivering better customer service, even more so in the current environment.”
Key dates to mark in your calendar for the 2023 awards include the entry deadline on Friday, 28th July, at 5pm. The judging process, including mystery traveling, will take place throughout August and September.
As part of the evaluation process, candidates in three of the people categories will have the opportunity to engage in discussions with the judges and deliver a ten-minute presentation, either in-person or via Zoom. These sessions are scheduled for late September at a central London location near Victoria.
The announcement of the finalists will take place online in October, followed by the eagerly anticipated in-person presentation ceremony on Tuesday, 28th November, held at the renowned Troxy venue in London.
“We can’t wait to bring the industry together once again at Troxy, London in November to celebrate its successes, achievements, innovations, dedication and sheer brilliance,” added Alan Millar.
Further information about the categories and how to enter can be obtained by visiting the UK Bus Awards website at www.ukbusawards.org.uk.
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