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. Hosted by radio and television presenter Jeremy Vine, the awards attracted over 600 senior transport professionals including Transport Minister Claire Perry MP who gave the keynote address.
It was a good night for Glasgow with First Glasgow picking up the Improvements to Bus Services award for their network redesign simpliCITY; Glasgow Central Station winning Rail Station of the Year and Glasgow City Council winning the Excellence in Cycling and Walking award.
Luton Borough Council picked up the top Local Authority award on the night winning transport local authority of the year and on the operators side Reading Buses won Bus Operator of the Year and ScotRail won Rail Operator of the Year. Two new awards that were introduced at this year’s awards were won by Caledonian MacBrayne and Port of Tyne for Ferry Operator of the Year and Port of the Year respectively.
There was a special recognition award given to TfGM for outstanding performance: record patronage, a reduction in road casualties, major landmark projects delivered ahead of schedule and on budget, and key policy areas progressed including passenger satisfaction, value-for-money, rail devolution, high speed rail, sustainable travel and carbon reduction.
Luton Borough Council, the Transport Local Authority of the year, sponsored by Basemap, impressed the judges with their vision for a strong commitment to first class urban design, to create a top quality built environment. Their regeneration of St George’s Square in 2009 led to a number of other city centre improvements. The Luton Airport Parkway station gateway and Luton Bus Interchange and Station Square, both opened last year. The £90m Luton-Dunstable busway, also opened last year. It runs from Houghton Regis via Dunstable to London Luton Airport and serves some of the poorest wards in the area providing better links to jobs, housing, health and education facilities.
The much coveted Rail Operator of the Year, sponsored by Thales, went to ScotRail for their wide range of initiatives including the biggest introduction of free wi-fi in the UK and the introduction of smart tickets convinced the judges that they should be this year’s Rail Operator of the Year. The operator carried more than 87 million passengers in 2013/14 – the tenth consecutive annual rise – and the latest passenger survey shows them to be above the UK average in 34 out of 37 categories.
Reading Buses retained the Bus Operator of the Year award as they continue to build a reputation for innovation. Their passengers gave the company the top rating in England in the recent Passenger Focus survey with 94% overall customer satisfaction. This 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.
It was third time lucky for Heathrow Terminal 5 as they finally won Airport of the Year, sponsored by Worldline. They narrowly edged out Edinburgh who received a commendation. Heathrow impressed the judges with its best ever satisfaction scores in the first quarter of 2014 putting it in the top quartile of European airports.
Port of Tyne won the first ever Port of the Year award with its sustained record growth and record cargo volumes for five years in succession, to become the fastest growing of the UK’s top 30 ports. Strategic investment of over £120m has transformed the port’s business operations and allowed it to diversify into five business areas, covering conventional and bulk cargo, car terminals, cruise and ferry, logistics and a portfolio of commercial property.
Ferry Operator of the year – another new category for 2014 – was won by Caledonian MacBrayne who saw off Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Hovertravel and Red Funnel Isle of Wight Ferries.
The full list of award winners and those who were highly commended is as follows:
Transport Local Authority of the Year
Winner: Luton Borough Council - Luton is Open for Business
Highly Commended: Portsmouth City Council
Judges Special Award for Outstanding Performance
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)
Improvements to Bus Services
Winner: First Group - First Glasgow's network redesign – simpliCITY
Highly Commended: Brighton & Hove City Council - Brighton & Hove City Council: Lewes Road Sustainable Transport Corridor
Excellence in Cycling and Walking
Winner: Glasgow City Council - Connect 2 & Glasgow Cycle Network Plan
Highly Commended: Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council - Swansea Bay Cycle Routes
Road Safety, Traffic Management & Enforcement
Winner: BAM Morgan Sindall & Highways Agency - BAM Morgan Sindall Smart Motorways Framework
Highly Commended: Brighton & Hove City Council - Seven Dials Road Safety Scheme
Rail Operator of the Year
ScotRail
Ferry Operator of the Year
Caledonian MacBrayne
Bus Operator of the Year
Winner: Reading Buses
Highly Commended: Lothian Buses
Airline of the Year
Easyjet
Rail Station of the Year
Glasgow Central Station
Port of the Year
Winner: Port of Tyne
Highly Commended: ABP Port of Southampton - investing for the future
Airport of the Year
Winner: Heathrow Terminal 5
Highly Commended: Edinburgh
Transport Supplier of the Year
Winner: Spencer Rail - Innovation and multi-disciplinary capabilities employed throughout the UK in 2013/14
Contribution to Sustainable Transport
Winner: Slough Borough Council - Reducing Carbon Emissions and Improving Air Quality in Slough
Highly Commended:HS1 & Network Rail
Most Innovative Transport Project
Joint Winners: Transport for London - The London Underground Control Centre
Joint Winners: Merseytravel - Merseytravel’s Young People’s Affordability Project
Excellence in Technology
Winner: Arriva - Electric Bus Project - Milton Keynes
Highly Commended: Basemap Ltd - Visography TRACC: Transport accessibility software
Transport Team/Partnership of the Year
Winner: National Express - The Transforming Bus Travel partnership - Centro & National Express West Midlands
Travel Information & Marketing
Winner: First West of England - A Fare Hearing For Bristol
Highly Commended: Norfolk County Council - Finding the right bus, right stop and right destination in Norwich City Centre
Frontline Employee of the Year
Wesley Felix, Transport for London
Commended:
Clare Williams, Station Group Manager, Southern Railway
Jonathan Byrne, Customer Service Assistant, London Underground
Matt Lenton, Rail Neighbourhood Officer, Southern Railway
Neil Reid, Lothian Buses
Rebecca Ditchburn, Youth Liaison Officer, Nexus
Aktarul Miah, Transport for London
Construction and Engineering Project of the Year
Winner: DP World London Gateway
Outstanding Contribution to Transport
Cllr Liam Robinson, Chair of the Merseytravel Committee and General Purposes Sub Committee
Notes to editors:
Judging panel chaired by Professor David Begg, Chief Executive, Transport Times
Judges include:-
- Graham Pendlebury, Director - Local Transport, DfT
- Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Passenger Focus
- Stephen Joseph OBE, Executive Director, Campaign for Better Transport
- Louise Ellman, Chair, Transport Select Committee
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
