First Bus, the UK’s leading bus operator, has been shortlisted for 10 prizes at this year’s Scottish Transport Awards, one of the bus industry’s most prestigious awards events.
First Aberdeen has been shortlisted in the ‘Public Transport Operator of the Year’ category and hopes to emulate the success of sister firm First Glasgow which took home the much coveted accolade last year.
A new staff app introduced by the Aberdeen business has been shortlisted in the Innovative Transport Project of the Year category and its involvement in the hydrogen vehicle trial led by Aberdeen City Council has been shortlisted in the Transport Team/Partnership of the Year category.
First Glasgow, the largest bus firm in Scotland, has been shortlisted for its ‘Hospital Connect’ service to the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in the ‘Best Bus Service’ category while it’s Regional Repair Facility has been highlighted in the Excellence in Technology and Innovation category.
Meanwhile two bus services operated by the Scotland East business have been shortlisted. Its popular ‘Royal Route’ 38 bus service features in the ‘Best Bus Service’ category while the hybrid vehicles operating on Stirling University’s UniLink have been shortlisted in the Contribution to Sustainable Transport category.
Three First Bus employees have also been shortlisted in the Frontline Employee of the Year category. They are Nigel Harrison (Aberdeen); Martin Brand (Glasgow) and Tommy Rooney (Scotland East).
Fiona Kerr, Managing Director of First Bus in Scotland, said: "I’m delighted that we’ve been shortlisted in such a wide range of categories. We are striving to make improvements for customers and generate passenger growth right across First Bus.
“To be shortlisted for our operational delivery, sustainability and importantly best employees on the frontline is a fantastic result. It really does reflect the hard work and commitment of my colleagues from all corners of our operations to improve services and encourage more people on to our buses.”
The Scottish Transport Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony in Glasgow on June 16.
First Bus has been shortlisted for the following awards:
Public Transport Operator of the Year
First Aberdeen
Most Innovative Transport Project of the Year
First Aberdeen Employee App
Excellence in Technology and Innovation
First Glasgow - Regional Repair Centre
Contribution to Sustainable Transport
First Midland Bluebird – UniLink
Best Bus Service
First Glasgow – Hospital Connect
First Scotland East – Royal Route
Frontline Employee of the Year
Nigel Harrison – First Aberdeen
Martin Brand – First Glasgow
Tommy Rooney – First Scotland East
Transport Team/Partnership of the Year
Aberdeen City Council - Hydrogen Bus Project
ENDS
For further information please contact Stephanie Todd, PR Manager, First Bus Scotland, 07525 866712, [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America and our services help to create strong, vibrant and sustainable local economies. During the last year around 2.4 billion people relied on us to get to work, to education, to visit family and friends and much more and, each day, every one of our 110,000 employees works hard to deliver vitally important services for our passengers.
Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering.
First Bus
FirstGroup is one of Britain’s largest bus operators with around a fifth of bus services outside London. A fleet of some 6,300 buses carries approximately 1.7 million passengers a day in a huge number of communities including 40 of the UK's largest towns and cities. We operate some US-style yellow school buses and have a fleet of coaches available for charter. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.