Plymouth Citybus driver Kyly Summerfield was named one of the best drivers in the UK at the 2022 Bus Driver of the Year competition, at which she was one of a relatively small number of women drivers taking part. Kyly took on drivers from England, Wales and Scotland, and had to prove her driving skills, knowledge of bus workings and customer service skills, ultimately taking home the award for best driver from a Go-Ahead Group company, as well as finishing 6th overall – and was the top female in the whole competition.
Kyly said: “There were 10 different ‘tests’ I had to do on the day, plus a theory test. There weren’t many female competitors, which made it even sweeter when I won. I could see the others who came to the competition with me were choked with pride.”
The Bus Driver of the Year weekend included a gala dinner, as well as the competition itself, and Kyly was accompanied by some of the Plymouth Citybus team. Driver Trainer Emma Courtier went with Kyly. Emma said: “I was like an expectant mum, I was watching her going along the route and I could see she was doing well. Then I heard she got 100% in one of the tests, so I knew she was scoring well too. When they called her name, I screamed, I couldn’t help it! We’re all incredibly proud of her. Kyly is so enthusiastic, it’d be nice if more drivers followed her lead and we can defend her title next year.”
As well as her title, Kyly took home the cup for a year, a glass trophy to keep and £1,000 prize money. She added, “As I was doing it, I was thinking ‘this is for the girls.’ Now I’ve got something to prove, I want to go back and do even better next time.”
Next year’s competition will be held over the first weekend in September.
