Cambridgeshire operator Whippet recently had several reasons to celebrate, marking its 105th year in business by winning national awards, increasing local services by 25%, and welcoming Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Nik Johnson at its Swavesey depot to cut a special bus-shaped birthday cake.
The operator recently won its first ever national awards, taking home the CiTTi Public Transport Award 2024 for the Universal service in Cambridge, as well as being recognised at the UK Bus Awards where it won Bronze in the Top Independent Operator category, and was also shortlisted for the Going for Growth award.
The achievements come after a year of significant change and improvement at the company, which came under new management in 2023. As part of these improvements, the company has recently enhanced its local services X2, X3 and 66 with six additional buses added to the routes to enable more frequent services and better connections.
While recent figures released by the Department for Transport show that bus passenger numbers and concessionary bus patronage are increasing across the country, Whippet’s own passenger figures show that the company’s growth is significantly higher than the national trend. While national bus passenger numbers are up 10%, Whippet says it has seen a 15% growth, whilst figures for concessionary bus patronage show Whippet seeing a 19% increase compared to the 7% nationally, the company reports.
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Nik Johnson joined the celebrations at Whippet’s depot: “I was delighted to have joined Whippet to mark their 105th anniversary and to congratulate the team on their recent achievements at the CiTTi Awards 2024. It was a pleasure to meet members of the Whippet team and find out more about their award-winning partnership with the University of Cambridge,” he said. “The Combined Authority’s mission to make buses more reliable, affordable, and accessible to everyone cannot be done in isolation. I look forward to working with Whippet and all bus operators across the region to drive forward this exciting agenda.”
Whippet is now part of Ascendal Group, and Ascendal’s Executive Chairman and Founder, Adam Leishman, was also part of the celebrations. Adam said: “It’s a great achievement for Whippet to have served the region for 105 years. We are very proud of our heritage, and excited to continue being a reliable and familiar name to the people of Cambridgeshire. Thank you to Mayor Nik for being such a passionate advocate of buses and joining with us to celebrate this momentous occasion.”
