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Success at the Bus Driver of the Year Competition
Friday 11 September 2009
Once again First has enjoyed success at the Bus Driver of the Year competition in Blackpool. The company narrowly missed out on the overall Bus Driver of the Year award, but scooped a number of other titles instead, with one driver coming fourth overall, and three others getting prestigious awards too.
In total, around 30 First drivers took part in the competition, each of them winning internal competitions in their operating companies to gain a place at the final, but it was Andy Evered from Bath, who took away the prize for the highest placed FirstGroup employee. Andy, who has worked for First Bristol, Somerset and Avon for the past 22 years, was named the fourth best bus driver in the UK, also picking up the Irisbus UK Shield for having the best Highway Code test result. In all, he walked away with a number of trophies and around £1000 in prize winnings.
Martin Sleeman, a driver from South Wales, also walked away smiling. He was named best competitor from a depot in Wales and won the Donald Macdonald Memorial Shield and a cash prize. Martin has worked for First Cymru for the past seven years, often driving Services X40 and X41 in and around Carmarthen.
Stephen Elliot, a driver for First London was named the joint winner of the London Buses cup, a prize celebrating the highest placed London buses competitor. He shared his prize with a driver from Metrobus.
Finally, Stephen Lambeth, from First Essex won the Best Mechanical Test Result and walked away with the Deans Door Shield and a cash prize.
Talking about First’s success at the Bus Driver of the Year competition, Nicola Shaw, Director, Bus - UK, Ireland and Germany, said: “I am delighted that once again we have scored highly in the Bus Driver of the Year competition. I was honoured to meet all the drivers at the event and present them with their prizes. They did a fantastic job, showing off their safe driving skills and excellent customer service. Well done and thank you all, we can all be very proud of your achievements."
Established in 1967, the Bus Driver of the Year competition attracts the top 120 drivers from across the country who are judged on the standards they show in areas such as dress code, customer care, general driving style, and how and where to stop at bus stops.
The competition includes both theory and practical tests, and the top prize, awarded to the 2009 Bus Driver of the Year, is worth £1500. The runner-up receives an award worth £1000 while third, fourth and fifth places receive £750, £500 and £250 respectively.
Notably Andy Evered’s success in Blackpool means that he is now automatically entered into the 'Chris Moyes Memorial Award for Customer Service' at the UK Bus Awards in November. This award is especially designed to recognise, reward and inspire customer-facing staff in the bus and coach industry, including drivers, enquiry office staff and on-road supervisors.
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