Arriva has won a host of awards at the 2023 UK Bus Awards in London.
The leading bus operator was especially commended for how well it works with others.
Arriva picked up a total of eight gongs at the UK Bus Awards – one of the public transport industry’s most prestigious awards that recognise, reward and inspire the people that work in the bus industry.
The company scooped the top gold award in the Partnership for Excellence category for the way it works with organisers of the Great North Run.
The Arriva UK Bus team worked alongside Go North East, Nexus and Stagecoach to collaborate on passenger transport for the 2022 Great North Run, which sees around 45,000 people taking part each year.
As a result of the collaboration there was a 10% increase in people using public transport thanks to the creation of a special ticket for the event that could be used on all local transport.
Another partnership, which won the Bus in the Community silver award was Arriva’s Care Experienced Travel collaboration. This was a joint effort between Arriva, Go North East, Nexus and Stagecoach, which saw the operators come together and work with the NHS to provide free travel for young people who had been brought up in local authority care.
After a pilot in 2022, the scheme was rolled out further this year and now 1,500 young people aged 18-25 have the passes, with 39% saying that the pass has helped them to stay in work.
Enfield bus driver Thomas Brade took home bronze in the Top London Bus Driver category.
Thomas, who’s been with Arriva for 21 years, has received commendations on every Bus Customer Experience Survey he’s had. He’s also known for his fantastic customer service, receiving a commendation from the parent of one of his passengers, a teenager with autism who’s recently begun using the bus to get to school.
Bronze winner in the Top Express Service was the X6 service between Leicester and Coventry.
When the service suddenly stopped one morning in the summer of 2020 because the operator had gone into administration, passengers did not need to wait long until the route was back. Just two days after it ended, the X6 was back up and running and being operated by Arriva. Since then, the team have created a more direct route between the two cities, liaising with the local universities and hospitals whose buildings lie on the route to make sure it serves the needs of regular commuters.
Alistair Hands, regional managing director, said: “We are thrilled with our performance at the UK Bus Awards this year.
“It’s so important that our colleagues are recognised for their fantastic work and professionalism and I think it’s indicative of our values at Arriva that we’ve succeeded particularly in categories which are centred on being part of the community and working well with local authorities.
“We have always worked well with councils and other partners and it is wonderful that the committed and dedicated staff who proudly serve their communities and customers have been rewarded.”
UK Bus awards judges also gave a special mention to Arriva’s punctuality project in the Cultural Change category.
Arriva had received 12 individual nominations across nine categories this year.
The awards were presented on November 28 at Troxy in London.
The full list of Arriva’s UK Bus Awards are:
Partnership for Excellence: The Peter Huntley Memorial Award
Gold: Arriva North East, Go North East, Nexus, and Stagecoach North East, 2022 Great North Run
Bronze: Leicester City Council with Arriva, Centrebus, First Bus, Kinchbus
Bus and the Community
Silver: Arriva North East, Go North East, Nexus and Stagecoach North East – Care Experienced Travel
Silver: West Yorkshire Bus Alliance – Youth Engagement Programme
London Bus Garage of the Year
Silver: Croydon, Arriva London
Luke Rees-Pulley Award for Top London Bus Driver
Bronze: Thomas Brade, Arriva London
Top Express Service
Bronze: X6 Leicester-Coventry – Arriva East and South Midlands
Environmental Innovation
Bronze: Hybus, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (partnered with Arriva)
