Details of the 2022 UK Bus Awards have been announced, with plans for the contest to get under way in July. Entries will once more be invited to compete for 23 awards covering the full range of skills required to plan, promote and deliver high quality bus services to customers.
The award categories are a mixture of the familiar and the new, to continue to emphasise the importance of the industry’s people, with six awards available from drivers to senior managers. The Top Express Operation award, previously competed for under the UK Coach Awards banner, has been added to the operating award.
In the technical and professional categories, modifications have been made, recognising the changes and developments that have taken place since the competition was last held in this form in 2019. Two categories are designed to recognise technological change and innovation – one that supports the environment and one that supports improvement in the customer experience. A new marketing award replaces the previous two in this area, whilst there’s a return for an old favourite, Buses for Pleasure – reflecting the new importance of leisure travel to the industry. The importance of partnerships to deliver bus service improvements is emphasised with the new Partnering for Delivery award, presented in memory of the late Peter Huntley who was a passionate advocate of such joint working throughout his career. Another favourite completes the set – Bus and the Community, again emphasising partnerships but this time mostly with the voluntary sector.
Alan Millar, UK Bus Awards Chairman, said; “We are delighted to be entering the 26th competition, featuring our first in-person event since before the Covid pandemic. We’re really looking forward to receiving and assessing the entries for this year’s competition – and to welcoming everybody to Troxy on 15 November.”
He continued, “The events of the last three years have been really tough, but the industry has responded superbly, carrying essential workers during lockdown, adapting to rapidly changing circumstances and working in partnership with local authorities and others to keep our networks running. We’re really keen to be recognising and rewarding those efforts through the awards and inspiring others to follow the winners’ examples.”
Details of how to enter or nominate will be available shortly via the UK Bus Awards website at ukbusawards.org.uk. The closing date for nominations is Friday 22 July.
