NATIONAL TRANSPORT AWARDS 2013 - Winners Announced

INSPIRING TRANSPORT PROJECTS REWARDED AT NATIONAL TRANSPORT AWARDS CEREMONY

 

The people making a real difference to transport across the UK were recognised at the prestigious National Transport Awards at the Westminster Park Plaza in London last night.  The top local authority awards went to Southampton City Council and Hertfordshire County Council who picked up Transport City of the Year and Transport County of the Year respectively.  South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive won Integrated Transport Authority of the Year.  The 2013 Rail Operator of the Year was awarded to London Underground and Bus Operator of the Year to Reading Buses. Gatwick Airport picked up Airport of the Year with Heathrow Terminal 4 being highly commended.

 

Hosted by radio and television presenter Jeremy Vine, the awards attracted over 600 senior transport professionals including the Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin MP who gave the keynote speech and presented an outstanding contribution award to ex transport minister Norman Baker MP. 

 

Transport City of the year Southampton has achieved an impressive modal shift from private car to sustainable modes of transport.  It has massively boosted cycling to school (+320%) and delivered a wide range of bus improvements as well as made a number of effective partnerships, the most innovative of which is with the University and Sustrans.  They have jointly set up a Centre for Sustainable Travel Choices which is overseeing the delivery and monitoring of the Council’s major behavioural change programme which is already producing tangible results. The city has also secured a large amount of funding which they have earmarked for an ambitious transport vision for 2030.

 

Transport County of the Year Hertfordshire’s impressive entry highlights the authority’s innovative approach to school transport provision, not just the efficiency savings it has made by using third party suppliers but the provision of its new online multi-modal school journey planner which encompasses calorie counting and road safety too. Herfordshire is making optimal use of new technology for improving information for bus users; improving cyclising provision to strategically link the town further underpinned by innovative and cost-saving walking signage.

 

 

 

The 2013 Integrated Transport Authority of the Year SYPTE’s Bus Partnership was launched at the end of October 2012 and in the first 13 weeks the number of adult fare-paying passengers rose by almost 3% to 7.9m. New discounted multi-operator tickets have been introduced which have led to some fares falling by 23%. Average fares went down by 3%.  Up to 35 % of adult fare paying customers benefit from the cheaper fares and range of new tickets.  SYPTE is also leading the tram-train project, a pilot to run light rail vehicles on both tram and conventional rail lines.  The authority has led on bids which have secured over £120m in external funding to be invested in South Yorkshire’s public transport network over the next few years.

 

The much coveted Rail Operator of the Year went to London Underground for achieving record-breaking numbers of passengers, service delivery, customer satisfaction, excess journey time reductions while providing more capacity and higher service frequencies.  This has been achieved in the midst of the biggest ever upgrade programme as well as the 2012 Olympics which saw 35% more passengers carried than normal (total of 62 million journeys across 29 days).  Its highest ever levels of reliability means that it will run almost 5 per cent more service kilometres this year than last.

 

Bus Operator of the Year Reading Buses passenger and revenue growth is underpinned by solid performance improvements. High customer satisfaction is borne from a significant focus on improving staff morale, skills training, vehicle cleanliness and investment in new technology as well as improved on-board information displays. Recruitment changes have achieved 2% increase in female drivers.

 

Gatwick were awarded Airport of the Year because of its investment in people, processes and technology and encouraging continuous improvement.  In the Airport Service Quality survey of departing passengers, run by Airports Council International, Gatwick achieved its highest-ever score of 3.99 out of 5 in the first quarter of 2013.  It currently ranks eighth in Europe.  Gatwick has improved forecourt areas and assistance lanes through security and is working with airlines to increase pre-notification of reduced mobility passengers.  The airport has seen a 12% increase in the last year of passengers with reduced mobility

 

 

The full list of award winners and those who were highly commended is as follows:

 

Transport City of the Year – Sponsored by Atkins

Southampton City Council

 

Highly Commended: Nottingham City Council

 

Transport County of the Year – Sponsored by Atkins 

Hertfordshire County Council

 

Integrated Transport Authority of the Year

South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive

 

Highly Commended: Transport for Greater Manchester

 

Dedication to Access for All

Reading Buses - Utterly dedicated to all our customers

 

Highly Commended: Oxfordshire Unlimited Transport Group with Oxfordshire County Council Transport & Highways Department and Oxford Bus Company – Travel With Confidence

 

Improvements to Bus Services sponsored by National Express

Nottingham City Council

 

Highly Commended: Bedford Borough Council – A Fare Deal for Bedford Rural

Highly Commended: Transport for Greater Manchester – Supplier Rating

 

Achievements in Cycling

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea – Two Way Cycling in One Way Streets

 

Excellence in Road Safety Traffic Management & Enforcement sponsored by FirstGroup Plc

Lancashire County Council - The Morning After & Drive Safely for Longer

 

Highly Commended: Transport for London - Lane Rental Scheme

 

Excellence in Walking & Public Realm

Centro and Coventry City Council - Coventry City Centre Public Realm Scheme

 

Highly Commended: Haringey Council - DIY Streets project; Turnpike Lane/West Green Area

 

Rail Operator of the Year

London Underground

 

Highly Commended: First TransPennine Express (FTPE)

Highly Commended: Serco Docklands - Improving Performance and Customer Satisfaction

 

Bus Operator of the Year

Reading Buses

 

Highly Commended: Lothian Buses

 

Rail Station of the Year

Merseytravel – Liverpool Central Station

 

Highly Commended: Southern Railway Limited and Network Rail – Horsham Railway Station

 

Transport Consultancy of the Year

Atkins

 

Transport Supplier of the Year

Bombardier - Supporting London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL) during the Olympics & Bombardier’s contribution to the London Underground Victoria Line Upgrade

 

Airport of the Year sponsored by Atos

Winner: Gatwick Airport

 

Highly Commended: Heathrow Airport (Terminal 4)

 

Contribution to Sustainable Transport sponsored by Heathrow Airport Limited

Lothian Buses – Environmental Bus Improvements

 

Highly Commended: Derbyshire County Council - Scooter Smart

 

Most Innovative Transport Project of the Year sponsored by Go-Ahead Plc

Transport for London and Barclaycard - Acceptance of contactless payment cards on London Buses

 

Excellence in Technology

Optare plc – Optare Versa EV electric bus and fast charging system

 

Transport Team/Partnership of the Year

Winner 1: ScotRail & Network Rail - The PaCE project

Winner 2: First Hampshire & Dorset with Hampshire County Council - Eclipse BRT

 

Excellence in Travel Information & Marketing

Winner 1: Transport for London - The 150th Anniversary of London Underground A Year of Celebration

Winner 2: FirstGroup – The One

 

Frontline Employee of the Year

Rob Denison, Express York Conductor, First TransPennine Express

 

Highly Commended: Georgi Shopov, Train Care Supervisor, c2c

Highly Commended: Denise Ross, Sales Assistant, First Capital Connect

Highly Commended: Jess Eden, Independent Travel Training Coordinator, Southampton City Council

Highly Commended: Bhupen Pandya, Station Supervisor, Transport for London

Highly Commended: Liam Needham, Bus Station Manager, West Yorkshire PTA

 

Woman in Transport sponsored by Clear Channel

Kate Readman, Lead Commercial Manager, Turner & Townsend

 

Lifetime Contribution to Transport

Kieran Preston

 

Contribution to National Transport

Norman Baker MP

 

Contribution to Local Transport

David Brown, SYPTE

 

Rail Restoration Project of the Year Sponsored by BAM Nuttall

Balfour Beatty & Network Rail – Forth Bridge

 

 

Notes to editors:

 

Judging panel chaired by Professor David Begg, Chief Executive, Transport Times

 

Judges include:-

 

  • Graham Pendlebury, Director - Local Transport, DfT
  • Andy Southern, Managing Director of Transport and Planning, Atkins
  • Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Passenger Focus
  • Stephen Joseph OBE, Executive Director, Campaign for Better Transport

 

For further information contact:

 

Contact Grant Poulton

 

Tel: 0207 828 3804

Fax: 0207 828 3803

Email: [email protected]

 

Photographs can be purchased at www.simply-photography.co.uk

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