Achievement and Awards
Stagecoach's new ideas and pioneering approach to public transport continues to be recognised with a host of major awards.
We have twice been named UK Bus Operator of the Year and have been named Rail Operator of the Year for the second time during 2011, which is a reflection of our commitment to high quality services for passengers across our businesses.
Stagecoach has won more plaudits than ever before from transport industry experts for its bus, rail and tram operations. The following are just a selection of the honours our companies and our people have earned in recent years.
GROUP-WIDE AWARDS
In 2010, Stagecoach Group was included in the FTSE4Good socially responsible investment index for the 10th consecutive year. Companies included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, which measures the performance of leading companies, must meet stringent social, ethical and environmental criteria.
In 2009 the Group was named as the “Most Admired” of Britain’s bus and rail groups for the second year in a row in Management Today’s 16th annual review of Britain’s top companies.
Stagecoach Group was recognised at the 11th annual Scottish Business Insider and PricewaterhouseCoopers Scotland PLC Awards 2009 after being commended in both the Innovation and Sustainability award categories.
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS
Stagecoach Group won the Travel and Transport Award at the 2010 Green Business Awards for its innovative Bio-bus project in West Scotland.
Stagecoach Group was awarded the ‘Best Green Travel Provider’ Award at the 2009 Scottish Green Awards.
The Bio-bus project was also named ‘Best Green PR Campaign’ at the 2009 Scottish Green Awards.
And the Bio-buses also won the ‘Best Process’ Award at the 2009 Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (VIBES) Awards.
At the 2010 ATOC Cycling Awards, South West Trains was Highly Commended for the Most Innovative Approach Award for its Brompton Bikes Scheme.
Stagecoach Group was named Low Carbon Vehicle Operator of the Year in 2011 at the 2011 Low Carbon Champion Awards.
NATIONAL TRANSPORT AWARDS 2010
Stagecoach Manchester was named Public Transport Operator of the Year in the bus operator category at the 2010 National Transport Awards.
Stagecoach Bluebird won the same award at the 2009 ceremony, representing two consecutive wins for Stagecoach as Public Transport Operator of the Year.
UK BUS AWARDS 2010
Stagecoach was once again among the front runners at the 2010 UK Bus Awards, winning three top honours and claiming four runner-up spots.
Stagecoach East’s successful X5 coach service was awarded the Express Coach Operation of the Year honour for the second year in a row after impressing judges with its continued success in attracting more passengers. The service – which also won a UK Coach Award this year – links Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.
Stagecoach Manchester Engineering Director Darren Roe scooped the Engineer of the Year Award after winning acclaim for the high standards he promotes, and for his work to provide employment and training opportunities to young people in south Manchester and Stockport.
Stagecoach’s ground-breaking Merseyside contactless payment scheme – in partnership with RBS WorldPay and Mastercard – won the Innovation Award. The UK-first project allows passengers to pay for their bus travel simply by tapping their debit or credit cards on a high-tech reader.
Stagecoach Oxford’s popular Oxford Tube service finished runner-up in the Express Coach Operation of the Year category.
Stagecoach Yorkshire finished as runner-up in the City Operator of the Year.
Stagecoach South West’s Go2 service was named runner-up in the Bus in the Countryside Award.
Kent County Council was named runner-up in the Winning New Customers category for its partnership with Stagecoach East Kent and Hastings in the provision of bus services in Ashford.
At the 2009 UK Bus Awards, Stagecoach led the way with three top awards and two runner-up places.
UK COACH AWARDS 2010
Stagecoach East won the Coach Marketing award at the 2010 UK Coach Awards for its successful X5 service between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge.
Stagecoach Oxfordshire’s Oxford Tube service finished as runner-up in the same category.
Stagecoach in Oxford was also named as runner-up in the Accessibility category for the Oxford Tube service.
LIGHT RAIL AWARDS 2010
Stagecoach Supertram in Sheffield scooped the award for Innovation of the Year for the development of its novel switch wear gauge which monitors the level of wear and tear occurring on switches and crossings on the tram track.
In addition, the team at Stagecoach Supertram were highly commended for Project of the Year for their work on the “Underfloor Project” which involved a complete refresh of the running gear underneath each tram.
SCOTTISH TRANSPORT AWARDS 2010
Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) won the Best Bus Service award for the Stagecoach-operated Inverness Airport Jet Network.
At the 2009 Scottish Transport Awards, Stagecoach West Scotland won the Partnership of the Year Award for its ‘Wee G’ bus initiative and was also commended in the Contribution to Sustainable Transport category.
Stagecoach in Fife was commended for the Scottish Public Transport Operator of the Year award.
ROUTE ONE AWARDS 2010
Stagecoach North West Operations Manager Richard Martin was presented with the Special Award at the 2010 Route One Operator Excellence Awards. Richard, who is based in West Cumbria, was praised for his determination and commitment to keeping bus service running during the severe flooding which struck Cumbria in November 2009.
NATIONAL RAIL AWARDS 2010
East Midlands Trains scooped the award for Environmental Excellence at the 2010 National Rail Awards after impressing judges with its comprehensive company-wide green strategy.
East Midlands Trains also picked up the Highly Commended Award for Innovation of the Year for its ‘interactive virtual train’ programme which is used to train drivers and other staff more easily and efficiently.
Also at the 2010 awards, South West Trains received a Highly Commended Award in the prestigious category of Passenger Operator of the Year for its outstanding operational performance in what is the largest and most complex of all UK rail franchises.
At the 2009 National Rail Awards, South West Trains’ Brockenhurst Station was named Best Medium Sized Station in the Station of the Year category after impressing judges with the standard of customer service, station presentation, initiative and innovation they observed.
NATIONAL RAIL AWARDS 2011
Stagecoach's rail franchises walked away with a collection of honours from the 2011 National Rail Awards.
South West Trains beat a host of other train operators to scoop the top title of 'Passenger Operator of the Year', judged by an independent panel of rail experts.
In addition, South West Trains was awarded for 'Maintenance Team of the Year' in partnership with Siemens. The judges commented about the team: "Great teamwork and great engineering management delivers great results" and recognized the outstanding work of its maintenance team to deliver the most reliable train fleets in the UK.
East Midlands Trains received the important award for Safety for its successful and unique industry leading initiative to reduce level crossing incidents, in partnership with Network Rail, British Transport Police and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).
COMMUNITY RAIL AWARDS 2011
South West Trains won the award for best Community Art Scheme for the transformation of Pokesdown station through community art, carried out in partnership with Bournemouth Council and Network Rail. East Midlands Trains also picked up third place in this category for its 'It's all recycled' community art project at Kidsgrove station.
The Station Adoption Group at South West Trains' Swaythling station picked up a winners award for Best Station Adoption Group, whilst the Kidsgrove Station Adoption Group on the East Midlands Trains' network came runner-up. Helen Gatensbury, Travel Advisor at Kidsgrove station was awarded third place in the category of Outstanding Railway Staff Contribution.
East Midlands Trains and the North Staffordshire Community Rail Partnership came runner-up in the category of Best Community Rail Image for a photograph illustrating the successful Community Involvement Day at Blythe Bridge station. This event was also awarded third place for Best Community Event. A runners-up certificate was awarded for Best Marketing Publication for the promotion of a great value summer evening out in Matlock and Matlock Bath, produced by the Derwent Valley Line Community Rail Partnership in conjunction with East Midlands Trains.
ROUTE ONE AWARDS 2011
Stagecoach and Scottish vehicle manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) were jointly awarded the inaugural Green Award after leading the UK on the introduction of state-of-the-art green hybrid-electric buses which produce up to 30% less carbon emissions than conventional diesel vehicles.
Stagecoach London Engineering Director Darren Roe scooped the Bus Engineer of the Year Award after impressing judges with his enthusiasm and dedication, as well as his ability to inspire others and to make significant improvements through simple but effective changes.
INNOVATION
Stagecoach Group has won numerous awards for its ground-breaking web-based low-cost inter-city travel service, megabus.com.
Stagecoach West Scotland’s bio-bus project won the Innovation of the Year at the 2008 Scottish Transport Awards.
RAIL EXCELLENCE
South West Trains won the Golden Whistle award for Best Operational Delivery at the 2010 Golden Whistles Awards.
East Midlands Trains won a Golden Whistle award for Most Improved Operational Safety as well as a Silver Whistle in the category of Most Improved Operational Performance.
South West Trains won the Customer Service Excellence Award for Brockenhurst Station at the 2010 ATOC Cycling Awards.
South West Trains was also successful at the 2010 Golden Spanner Awards. For the first time, the company picked up the top awards for the best reliability of both its Class 444 and Class 455 trains. In addition, once again, the team at South West Trains won the award for the most reliable former BR diesel multiple unit. South West Trains’ Salisbury depot also won a Silver Spanner award for the largest performance improvement in the last year in the category of former BR Diesel Multiple Unit, for the Class 158 fleet.
South West Trains’ commitment to safety has seen it twice win the Robert Horton Safety Award at the National Rail Awards.
RAIL BUSINESS AWARDS
East Midlands Trains' online Best Fare Finder tool won the award for Information Technology Excellence at the 2011 Rail Business Awards.
East Midlands Trains was also Highly Commended in three other categories at the awards ceremony.
South West Trains has previously received a special ‘winner of winners’ award for winning more honours than any other organisation over 10 years of the Rail Business Awards. Among the six awards the train company has won is the Rail Business of the Year accolade in 2005.
ROYAL HONOURS
Stagecoach Group co-founder and Chief Executive Brian Souter was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in summer 2011. He became Sir Brian Souter for his service to transport and the voluntary sector. Sir Brian is one of the UK’s foremost entrepreneurs, a significant supporter of charitable causes and the country’s leading public transport innovator.
Stagecoach Merseyside bus driver Bobby Fletcher was awarded an MBE for services to the transport industry in the Queen’s 2009 New Year Honours. Bobby began his career in the bus industry in 1963 and has become an excellent ambassador for the company.
Stagecoach bus driver David Hands was awarded an MBE for services to public transport in the 2008 New Year Honours. David (62), who is based at the company’s depot in Sunderland, has been a Stagecoach driver for eight years and has also worked tirelessly for various charities, including the Sunderland Counselling Service and St. Benedict’s Hospice.
COMMUNITY
Two Stagecoach bus inspectors, Kevin Sheehan and David Hoare, were honoured in 2011 by the Royal Humane Society for their role in helping to save lives when Workington’s Northside Bridge collapsed during the Cumbrian floods of 2009.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Stagecoach North West apprentice Rebecca Marsh picked up the ‘Transport Engineering and Maintenance’ award at the 2010 Go Skills Passenger Transport Apprenticeship Awards – the fifth year in a row that Stagecoach apprentices have won that particular award.
Stagecoach also won two top awards at the second annual 2009 Passenger Transport Management Awards (PTMA) when Stagecoach Manchester Fleet Engineer Mike Brinicombe won the New Engineering Award and Stuart Roughley, also of Stagecoach Manchester, was named as joint winner of the Local and Operational Management Award.
OVERSEAS
Megabus.com in the US won the award for Outstanding Ground Transportation Deals at the 2010 Travelzoo Awards for the second year in a row, having won the same award in 2009.
In 2009, the company was also shortlisted in the Outstanding Innovation in Creating WOW! Travel Deals category.
Megabus.com in the US was named as the 2008 winner of Budget Travel Magazine’s Extra Mile Award. The judges said: “megabus.com didn’t start a trend – it reinvented bus travel for a new generation.”
Our popular New York Sightseeing service in New York has received a prestigious Gray Line Diamond Award for promoting the brand worldwide.
These are just a few of the successes we have achieved for our award-winning transport and we are constantly striving to improve. Of course, the most important judges are the millions of customers who vote with their feet and use our services every day.