First, second and fifth place all taken by drivers from the operator, with 91 drivers entering the 2018 competition
Ian Field from Stagecoach East Scotland has been crowned UK Bus Driver of the Year (BDoY) at the 52nd annual event, which took place from 1-2 September, 2018.
The competition had 91 entrants from large and small operators throughout the country. Stagecoach West driver Anthony Quinn was the runner up, giving the company a double this year.
Ian won the BDoY trophy and £1,500 sponsored by the Road Operators’ Safety Council (ROSCO) plus £1,500 from Unite the Union, as well as being awarded the John Boxall Medallion as national champion.
A further £1,000 was awarded to Ian for being the highest-placed finalist from Stagecoach, £500 for highest-placed competitor from a company with ROSCO membership and as best competitor from a depot in Scotland he received another £100 accompanied by the Joe Mackie Shield.
A mini holiday in London and New Routemaster driving experience, provided by TfL, was also awarded to Ian.
All the trophies were presented by Joan Aitken, Traffic Commissioner for Scotland, who praised the efforts of bus operators throughout the UK in often difficult conditions while proudly wearing her ‘Thank You Driver’ badge.
Runner-up Anthony Quinn won the BDoY trophy and £1,500, along with a two-night break at the Grand Hotel in Blackpool. As the second-placed finalist from a Stagecoach company, he won a further £500 plus £100 as best competitor from a depot in England, winning the Giles Fearnley Shield.
In third place was Raj Viswanathan from Go-Ahead London, who won £1,000 with his BDoY trophy plus a further £1,000 for being highest-placed finalist from a Go-Ahead company and £1,000 as top London bus driver.
Nicholas Graham from First Hampshire, Dorset & Berkshire finished in overall fourth place, winning £750 plus £1,000 and the FirstGroup Cup as the highest-placed FirstGroup competitor.
Graham Hall of Stagecoach South East placed fifth, picking-up a £500 prize.
Joe Mackie, Chairman of the UK Bus Driver of the Year Association, commented: “We are extremely grateful to our sponsors for their generous financial support which makes it possible to run this much-loved event that puts bus drivers centre stage.”
Other prize winners
- Best competitor from a depot in Wales – Glenn Foster, First Cymru, winning Donald Macdonald Memorial Shield and £100.
- Best theory test result – Adam Ksiazek, First Aberdeen, BDoY trophy and £300.
- Highest-placed competitor from an ALBUM member – Steven McLeod, Lothian Buses, ALBUM trophy and £1,000.
- Highest-placed competitor from an independent company – Andrew Cawley, Peoplesbus, BDoY trophy and £1,000.
- Second-highest-placed FirstGroup competitor – Toni Bradley, First Glasgow, FirstGroup Shield and £500.
- Second-highest placed Go-Ahead competitor – Stephen Appiah, Go-Ahead London, Go-Ahead Shield and £500.
- Second-highest-placed London buses competitor – Delfino Gouveia de Freitas, RATP Dev London, London Buses Shield and £500.
- Highest-placed National Express competitor – John Black, Xplore Dundee, National Express Trophy and £1,000. Runner-up Stephen Bate, National Express Bus, trophy and £500.
- Highest-placed RATP Dev competitor – Delfino Gouveia de Freitas, RATP Dev London, RATP Dev cup and £1,000. Runner up Terrence Miles, RATP Dev London, RATP Dev Shield and £500.
- Best-presented buses – less than one year old, LTZ 1000 (RATP Dev London).
