Stagecoach SW celebrates special commendation
Stagecoach South West is celebrating winning a special commendation at the 2014 UK Bus Awards, held in London on 18th November 2014.
The commendation was given for ‘Keeping the West open for business’ for their efforts during the Dawlish rail closure.
Following the unprecedented weather events of February this year which resulted in the closure of the main rail line into the South West, Stagecoach introduced a range of measures to help local residents continue about their daily business. These included:
• Extension of the Exeter Megarider Plus to include Dawlish
• Extension of the Torbay Ticket zone as far as Teignmouth
• Discounts of up to 50% on single and return fares on key routes
• Acceptance of rail tickets on bus services
• Provision of free travel for local residents displaced from their homes
The changes to the ticket zones have remained in place ever since, with the Exeter Megarider Plus zone also recently extended to include Crediton and Cullompton.
Michael Watson, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, commented “To be recognised for our work during the Dawlish closure is absolutely fantastic. At the time, we just wanted to make sure we kept everyone moving and wanted to do this as quickly as possible, with the minimum of fuss.
“I’d like to say a personal thank you to everyone who helped make this happen including our drivers, our back office staff, our inspectors, controllers and engineers. I’d also like to thank all those customers who’ve continued to travel with us since the rail line reopened.”
Jim Manders, lead driver for Dawlish, attended the awards on behalf of his colleagues and said of the award “I’m so pleased to accept this on behalf of all of the drivers I work with and I’m very proud of all my colleagues.”
In addition to this special award, Stagecoach Group businesses were recognised across a range of award categories with gold, silver and bronze awards being handed out.
Stagecoach East Midlands won the Gold Award in the Marketing Initiative of the Year category for its successful marketing of its Skegness Seasider routes. The company, which has delivered passenger growth through a range of marketing initiatives, impressed judges by turning six open top buses into named classic seaside characters to take people to top tourist destinations in and around Skegness. The ‘Seasiders’ have become an attraction in their own right and Stagecoach has used story books, a song and video, giveaways and incentives to encourage families to use the services.
Former Stagecoach Manchester Service Performance Manager, Chris Icely – who retired in August – was named the Gold winner of the Unsung Heroes Award. Chris, who joined the bus industry as a conductor in 1978, was praised by the judges for his sustained career and commitment to delivering excellent service over many years.
Stagecoach Merseyside Engineering Director Tony Cockcroft won the Gold Award in the Engineer of the Year category. Tony, who joined the Stagecoach Merseyside team two years ago, was praised by judges for introducing a fresh, approachable manner and for his professionalism and passion for developing staff at all levels.
Stagecoach also picked up several other honours. Stagecoach Manchester was awarded Silver in the City Operator of the Year category – just a year after winning the overall Bus Operator of the Year title at last year’s awards.
Stagecoach London’s Romford Garage also scooped the Silver award in the London Bus Garage of the Year category while Stagecoach Yorkshire Assistant Operations Manager Shayne Howarth was Highly Commended in the Unsung Heroes Award.
Stagecoach UK Bus Managing Director Robert Montgomery said: “It’s fantastic to see our companies and individual employees being rewarded for their hard work and excellence. It is particularly pleasing to see three of our staff recognised for their commitment and quality of work - it is our people who make us the customer focussed business we are and Tony, Chris and Shane thoroughly deserve their awards.
“Across the UK, we are delivering high-quality bus services for our customers day in, day out, delivering the country’s best value fares, high customer satisfaction and smart ticketing. Along with our partners, we look forward to continuing to improve services for our customers and to encouraging even more people to make use of our greener, smarter bus services.”
Congratulating all the successful finalists, UK Bus Awards chairman Tony Depledge added: "In my first year as Chairman of the UK Bus Awards, I’ve been delighted to see at first hand so many great projects from bus operators and local authorities. Where authorities and operators align their priorities and develop schemes together, the results can inspire the whole industry for the constant improvement in service quality that our passengers deserve."
Stagecoach Group had 10 finalists at this year’s awards. The full list of the shortlisted nominees is as follows:
• Stagecoach Manchester (Top City Operator)
• Stagecoach North East (Top City Operator)
• Stagecoach, megabusGold.com (Innovation)
• Stagecoach East Midlands (Marketing Initiative of the YearAward)
• Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire (Putting Passengers First)
• Shayne Howarth, Stagecoach Yorkshire (Unsung Heroes Award)
• Chris Icely, Stagecoach Manchester (Unsung Heroes Award)
• Tony Cockcorft, Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire (Engineer of the Year Award)
• Stephen Reed, Stagecoach West Scotland (Top National Bus Driver)
• Romford Garage, Stagecoach London (London Bus Garage of the Year Award)
For further information on Stagecoach UK Bus visit www.stagecoachbus.com
