UK Bus Awards - a unique celebration
The evolution of the scheme and its not-for-profit business model
Towards the end of November, some 600 of the bus industry’s movers and shakers will be gathering in London at the UK Bus Awards 2024 – the unique, not-for-dividend scheme that is designed to recognise and reward the people, projects and organisations that are delivering excellence in serving the public.
The awards cover all the wide variety of tasks involved in providing high-quality bus services across the whole country – planning, marketing, engineering, management and front-line service delivery. There are awards for people at all levels, too, for managers, engineers, the industry’s unsung heroes and of course our drivers. These front-line staff and their inter-action with our customers are the fulcrum on which the whole industry rests.
The year’s event, once more held at Troxy, the spectacular art deco East End venue, will be the 27th physical presentation ceremony, whilst there was one virtual event during Covid.
In December, it will be 29 years since the meeting that led to the launch of the scheme, then known as the Bus Industry Awards, was held at a Bloomsbury hotel. The principles that underpin the scheme were quickly developed, and they remain in place today. The organisers decided that:
- the awards must be judged impartially by a team of experienced professionals
- for finalists, judging should where possible be supplemented by contact – either through mystery travelling or personal interviews
- the ceremony should be a lunchtime event in London, enabling the majority of people to attend without needing an overnight stay
- the ceremony should be prestigious enough to make a UK Bus Award really worth winning
- the awards should be independent and run for the benefit of the industry with any profits reinvested in the future of the core mission – to recognise, reward and inspire excellence in the bus and coach industry.
This year, the first round of the judging process whittled the original 240 entries down to 117 across eighteen categories, with a further two winners to be announced on the day. Since then, finalists in five categories have been subject to mystery traveller checks by our army of volunteers, and finalists in another three have been interviewed by the judging panels. It’s a rigorous process!
The UK Bus Awards was one of the earliest public transport award schemes to be launched back in 1996, and its business model is still unique. The organisers are not in it for profit: the only reason for its existence is to help the bus industry in its widest sense, including local transport authorities, industry suppliers plus operators and their staff. And it’s not just about winning on the day.
Consider this comment from one past local authority winner: “The lasting benefit we achieved from winning one award and being runner-up in another is the credibility it has given to the Council’s bus strategy, and the confidence to develop and extend the concept to other parts of the county.”
And this from another: “Our Highly Commended Awards have resulted in decision-makers and politicians becoming much more personally involved in our schemes. We are in a much stronger position to apply for additional funding based on the recognition we’ve received.”
And from a bus operator: "It's not just the winning that counts. It's possible to take advantage of the status of the Awards from the moment of nomination to gain as much positive PR as possible. That's what's really important! Throughout the Award process, we gained lots of PR in local newspapers, on radio and in the trade press.”
And from another: "The entry itself created a great deal of interest among our own staff and the general public. We feel proud to be associated and even prouder to be a winner."
A look back at the contests over the last 28 years, shows how the industry and the society it serves has changed. The awards have evolved too, trying to keep pace with new developments as well as staying true to their original purpose. Further change will come in the years ahead, and the awards organisers stand ready to adapt to those as well – so ensuring that the UK Bus Awards can still fulfil its original purpose: to recognise and reward excellence and inspire others to follow the examples of our winners. That way the whole industry becomes a winner!