Bus operator, First in Scotland, was today celebrating a double win at this years’ Scottish Transport Awards.
First Glasgow took home the biggest prize of the evening when it was awarded the ‘Public Transport Operator of the Year’ title for its outstanding performance during last year’s Commonwealth Games in the city.
In awarding the much-coveted prize, the judges highlighted the significant role First Glasgow played in the success of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last summer, when it carried a quarter of a million spectators while the eyes of the world were on the city.
A sharper customer focus delivered a rise in overall satisfaction in the last 12 months with First Glasgow customers now among the most satisfied in the UK and the continuing success of First’s simpliCITY network has seen it outperform the rest of its network in terms of growth and with improved punctuality and reliability.
Also recognised was the company’s significant investment in new vehicles, with 226 buses introduced in the last three years at a cost of £37million and its £20million new headquarters – the biggest and best bus depot in the UK – which was officially opened in the south side of the city by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. This new centre of operations is helping the company improve its performance and is very much seen as a launch pad for the growth and expansion of the business.
The ‘Frontline Employee of the Year’ category, a great recognition of the efforts being carried out every day across the country to support passengers and better connect with local communities, was won by First Aberdeen driving instructor Craig Duthie.
Kind-hearted Craig dedicated a day off to arranging a birthday surprise for a 12-year-old bus super-fan in his local area. He picked up Logan Coleman, who has learning difficulties, and his family from their home in Dyce and brought them to First Aberdeen’s base, a 20-mile round trip, for a behind the scenes tour of the home of the city’s biggest bus operator.
He arranged to have a ‘bendy bus’ from First Aberdeen’s fleet waiting, cleaned and ready for Logan himself to drive through the depot’s giant ‘bus wash’ machine – under Craig’s careful instruction of course – before driving the whole family back home again.
Logan’s mum Louise described it as a “dream day” for her son and praised Craig for giving up his own time and going above and beyond to make one little boy happy.
Also highly commended in this category was one of First Glasgow’s longest serving employees lost property assistant Jean Scott and First Scotland East cleaner Mark Smith.
Star of a recent STV documentary, Jean is renowned for going to extraordinary lengths to reunite passengers with their lost belongings while Mark’s quick-thinking saved the life of a local woman who’d left a distressed note after travelling on one of First’s local bus services when he rushed to inform local police.
Regional Managing Director of First in Scotland, Dave Alexander, said: "I’m delighted that First in Scotland has been recognised with a fantastic double award win.
"I’m especially pleased that First Glasgow deservedly been named Public Transport Operator of the Year, not just for its fantastic efforts during last summer’s Commonwealth Games, but outstanding performance overall.
“Delivering bus services during Scotland’s biggest ever event was no mean feat and the whole team at First Glasgow rose to the challenge with exceptional results. We’ve also seen the business go from strength to strength with a determination to deliver the best service possible for our customers and encourage more people to travel by bus, a vision that is shared by First business across Scotland.
“I’m also delighted to see our employees recognised for their efforts in delivering exceptional service on the front line. Craig’s caring approach and selfless deed in helping a little boy have a great birthday day out was fantastic and he’s a great role model in Aberdeen. Mark’s alertness helped prevent a tragic outcome and I know Jean is one of First Glasgow’s true characters. They all should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”
The Scottish Transport Awards took place on Thursday, June 18 in Glasgow.
ENDS