INSPIRING TRANSPORT PROJECTS REWARDED AT NATIONAL TRANSPORT AWARDS CEREMONY
The people making a real difference to transport across the country were recognised at the prestigious National Transport Awards in London last night, with Leicestershire County Council picking up the top prize of Transport Local Authority of the Year while the London Borough of Ealing won Most Improved Transport Local Authority of the Year. Northern Rail and Southern Vectis were joint winners of the Chris Moyes Public Transport Operator of the Year award. Keith Ludeman, former Chief Executive of The Go-Ahead Group plc, was also honoured for his lifetime contribution to transport.
Hosted by radio and television presenter Grant Stott, the awards drew over 500 transport professionals to the ceremony at the Lancaster London Hotel.
Transport Local Authority of the year Leicestershire County Council impressed the judges with its strength on future proofing and forward thinking, making big efficiency gains and major innovation in many areas. The council was praised by the Audit Commission for finding creative solutions to deliver schemes during the recession.
Named as one of the joint winners of The Chris Moyes Public Transport Operator of the Year award, Northern Rail’s annual PPM exceeded 90% for thirteen consecutive periods and has attracted more passengers – it now carries 86 million passengers, a 3% increase year on year. Over £8.5m has been invested in improving passenger facilities at stations across the network and their fleet reliability has increased by 45% since the beginning of the franchise.
An innovative partnership between Southern Vectis, the other Public Transport Operator of the Year winner, and Isle of Wight Council has helped combat funding cuts. The partnership has created enough stability for Southern Vectis to increase the frequency on its routes between Ryde and Sandown and Newport and the west of the island, and to return a number of evening services to other areas. This stability has cut the cost to the council of its supported bus services by a third, with Southern Vectis adopting more journeys commercially.
This year’s Most Improved Transport Local Authority of the Year, the London Borough of Ealing, has produced hugely impressive results across the board including road safety reduction, travel to school mode shift and cycling improvements. Investment in cycling has increased by 30% over the last three years to over £700,000 annually, walking and cycling to school has increased by almost 8%, and there has been a 5% reduction in road safety casualties.
John Jarvis was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Transport award. For the past 7 years John has masterminded transport strategy in the north of England. Employed by the Northern Way - an organisation which was founded by the three Regional Development Agencies in the North of England- he brought a diverse group of stakeholders and transport providers together produce a coherent and robust transport strategy.
This year’s winner of the Lifetime Contribution to Transport award, Keith Ludeman, has enjoyed a 40 year career in the industry. The latter part of his career was spent at Go-Ahead, initially leading the London Bus Division, before moving across to manage the Rail Division in 1999. He subsequently grew annual rail turnover from £250m to £1.2 billion, securing the Southern, Southeastern and London Midland franchises for the Group.
The National Transport Awards, in association with Transport Times magazine, are supported by the Department for Transport and Passenger Focus. The awards were judged by Chair of the Judging Panel and Transport Times publisher Professor David Begg; John Dowie, Director, Regional and Local Transport Policy, DfT; Andy Southern, Managing Director of Transport and Planning, Atkins; Anthony Smith, Chief Executive, Passenger Focus.
The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, Secretary of State for Transport said:
"I welcome this opportunity to recognise and reward the excellent work that is taking place across the transport industry, making a real difference to the lives of passengers.
Good transport is vital to our communities and gets to the very heart of the economic growth agenda – helping to create jobs and prosperity. At a time of economic challenge it is more important than ever that our transport system supports growth and regeneration.”
The full list of award winners and those who were highly commended is as follows:
Transport Local Authority of the Year sponsored by Atkins
WINNER - Leicestershire County Council
Most Improved Transport Local Authority of the Year
WINNER - London Borough of Ealing
Joe Clarke Integrated Transport Authority of the Year sponsored by AECOM
WINNER - Nexus/ TWITA
Dedication to Access for All
WINNER – Torbay Council – 67 Flyer
Highly Commended - Gloucestershire County Council - LIFT (Learning Independence For Travel) Programme
Improvements to Bus Services sponsored by National Express
WINNER - Peterborough City Council
Achievements in Cycling
WINNER – Essex County Council – Colchester Cycling Town
Highly Commended - South Ayrshire Council - Cycle usage in South Ayrshire
Road Safety, Traffic Management & Enforcement Project of the Year sponsored by FirstGroup
WINNER - Brent Council - Road Danger Reduction Success
Highly Commended - Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and The Moray Councils & Road Safety Grampian – Operation Zenith
Excellence in Walking & Public Realm
WINNER - Southwark Council in partnership with Mouchel - Reclaiming the Streets - Salisbury Row: the people’s project
Highly Commended - Glenn Howels Architects - Lime Street Gateway
Chris Moyes Public Transport Operator of the Year sponsored by Go-Ahead
WINNER - Northern Rail
WINNER - Southern Vectis
Highly Commended - National Express C2C
Highly Commended - Merseyrail
Rail Station of the Year sponsored by Keolis
WINNER - Merseytravel – Sandhills Station Revitalisation
Highly commended - Southern - Streatham Hill
Contribution to Sustainable Transport sponsored by Heathrow Airport Limited
WINNER - Office Depot – Office Depot Cargocycles
Highly Commended - World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe - Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for cycling and walking
Most Innovative Transport Project sponsored by BT
WINNER - Transport for London - Barclays Cycle Hire
Highly Commended - ScotRail – Keeping Scotland Moving
Excellence in Technology sponsored by VolkerWessels
WINNER - Go-Ahead Group - The Key ITSO smartcard for bus and rail travel
Highly Commended - TfL London Rail, Cubic & ATOC - Oyster Extension to National Rail
Transport Team/Partnership of the Year
WINNER - Network Rail and The Samaritans –National Suicide Prevention Programme
Highly Commended - South West Smart Applications Ltd (SWSAL) - Smart and Progressive Partnership Working in the South West – a national first
Travel Information & Marketing
WINNER - Centro - The ‘Theo’ Summer Campaign
Highly Commended - Greener Journeys - Sometimes you can't beat the bus
Highly Commended - Metrobus Ltd - Metrobus acquisition of the Horsham Town bus network - getting the basics right
Frontline Employee of the Year
WINNER - Lisa Barnes, Bus Station Supervisor, Transport for Greater Manchester
Highly Commended
- Stephen O'Hara, Lothian Buses
- Keith Garton, Station Supervisor, Northern Rail
- Ken Holmes, Southern
- Dave Smith, Buckinghamshire County Council
- Steve Underwood, Buckinghamshire County Council
- Ann Murdoch, Service Delivery Manager, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
- Willie Dickson, ScotRail
Lifetime Contribution to Transport
Keith Ludeman
Outstanding Contribution to Transport
John Jarvis
Transport Journalist of the Year
Andrew Forster, Local Transport Today
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
