The people and organisations that make a real difference to transport across London were recognised at the 13th annual London Transport Awards last night. The London Borough of Camden picked up the top award of the night for Transport Borough of the Year; London Overground (LOROL) took the Rail Operator of the Year title for the second year running while Metroline won Bus Operator of the Year.
Hosted by BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern, the awards saw 500 transport professionals gather at the prestigious ceremony held at the Lancaster London Hotel.
Winners of Transport Borough, Camden have had a fantastic year and it continues to innovate and has made significant advances in numerous areas since 2013 in meeting its Transport Strategy objectives. Camden leads the London Borough freight consolidation initiative, with partner boroughs Islington and Enfield. To date 165 suppliers and couriers have used the consolidation centre in Edmonton, where goods are merged onto fewer onward deliveries to users, serving almost 10% of London's area. Other initiatives include projects to segregate motor traffic from cyclists, as well as shared crossing points and stepped track cycle lanes.
Rail Operator of the Year, sponsored by Bombardier Transportation, was won once again by LOROL which is the first train operator in the UK to offer a turn up and go passenger assistance service. LOROL continually aims to achieve a daily punctuality rate of 97%.
Bus Operator of the Year, endorsed by TfL, was presented to Metroline who has maintained its performance seamlessly since taking over five garages and associated routes from June 2013. The company has been instrumental in helping develop the In the Zone safety training initiative for the London network's 24,000 drivers.
Four special individual awards were given out on the night. Outstanding Contribution to Transport in London, sponsored by Siemens was awarded to Valerie Shawcross CBE, Chair of the Transport Committee, GLA. Val is about to step down after more than twenty years in public service. Since 2008 she has alternated being Chair and Deputy Chair of the Transport Committee, playing a key role in holding TfL to account and scrutinising strategic transport matters. Always keen to protect the interests of the more vulnerable Londoners, Val has made a real impact.
Councillor Julian Bell, Leader of Ealing Council was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution to Local Transport in London honour. Councillor Bell has been Chair of London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee since July 2014. Under his stewardship, the committee has managed the renewal of more than a million Freedom Passes and helped secure £13m of funding from central government to increase the uptake of low emissions vehicles across the city. An ardent cyclist, he has worked tirelessly to promote two-wheeled transport in London and is a staunch advocate for improving air quality in the capital.
Outstanding Contribution to Transport across London was awarded to Sir Peter Hendy CBE. Sir Peter Hendy is the Chairman of Network Rail, having joined in July 2015. Sir Peter was previously commissioner of Transport for London (TfL) in 2006, having served since 2001 as TfL's managing director of surface transport. He led, and played a key role in preparing for, the successful operation of London's transport for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A lifetime contribution award to transport in London was given to commemorate a very talented public servant. Stuart Ross, Transport for London's Director of News, lost the bravest of battles with cancer on 22 January. Vernon Everitt, Managing Director, Customer Experience, Marketing & Communication, Transport for London gave a very fitting tribute on the night
"No words can really do justice to Stuart's contribution to London and making TfL a world-leading organisation. A deluge of heartfelt tributes from all quarters show just how deeply he will be missed.
Stuart was a magnificent public servant and elevated all who knew him to a higher plane. He will remain a hero and inspiration to us all. We will also ensure that Stuart's memory will be with us in perpetuity.
Our thoughts are with Becky and Rowan, Stuart's parents and sister, wider family, friends and colleagues."
The London Transport Awards, in association with Transport Times magazine, were judged by Professor David Begg, Chair of the judging panel and Chief Executive of Transport Times; Janet Cooke, Chief Executive, London Travel Watch; Nick Lester-Davis, Corporate Director of Services, London Councils and Valerie Shawcross CBE, Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee.
Mike Brown MVO, Transport Commissioner, Transport for London said:
"I am delighted to support these awards, which showcase the work of transport authorities, operators, suppliers and contractors, and all their people in ensuring that London remains a world leading city.
The Capital's population is at record levels - 8.6 million today, which will become 10 million by 2030: the definition of a mega city. In just four years, the number of passengers we serve has increased by nearly half a billion a year. Our population is growing at the rate of two full Tube trains a week or two full buses a day.
In response, significant investment is being made to modernise the transport network. The Victoria line is now one of the most frequent metro services in the world, we have new air-conditioned trains on four lines, Crossrail 1 is on time and on budget. In addition, we are spending £4bn on improving our roads.
Much has been done but there is still more to do. We very much welcome the Chancellor's commitment for £10bn of capital investment in transport. The majority of the cost of Crossrail 2 will be borne by London but we still need some contribution from Central Government if it is going to be ready to get the South East to work in 2030, free up the bottleneck at Waterloo and support 200,000 new jobs and the same number of new homes. This, and sustained funding for our day-to-day operations, are vital if the city is to continue to thrive."
The full list of award winners and those who were highly commended is as follows:
Transport Borough of the Year endorsed by Transport for London
Winner: London Borough of Camden
Excellence in Cycling and Walking
Winner: London Borough of Ealing – Southall Broadway Boulevard
Most Effective Road Safety, Traffic Management & Enforcement Project sponsored by FirstGroup
Winner: Ealing Borough Council – Atlas Road/Old Oak Lane Roundabout
Highly Commend: City of London – Holborn Circus Casualty Reduction Scheme 2013/2014
Bus Operator of the Year endorsed by Transport for London
Winner: Metroline
Rail Operator of the Year sponsored by Bombardier
Winner: LOROL
Most Innovative Transport Project sponsored by Keolis
Winner: Transport for London – Bus passenger counting and occupancy screen
Highly Commend: London Borough of Ealing – Greenford Lift
Contribution to Sustainable Transport sponsored by Go-Ahead Group
Winner: London Borough of Camden – Freight Consolidation Service
Excellence in Technology sponsored by Clear Channel
Winner: London Underground – Traction Inverter Installation on the Victoria Line
Transport Team / Partnership of the Year sponsored by Worldline
Winner: MTR Crossrail – MTR & Rail Rail: Collaborative Working on TfL Rail Line
Transport Supplier of the Year
Winner: Bombardier Transportation – Delivery of the new sub-surface line fleet
Excellence in Travel Information and Marketing
Winner: Steer Davies Gleave – Rugby World Cup Journey Planner
Airport of the Year Sponsored by Amey
Winner: London Stansted Airport
Frontline Employee of the Year sponsored by Rail Delivery Group
Winner: Pele Bapere – London Underground
Highly Commend: Viva Aikens – RATP Dev London
Richard Baker – TfL Rail
Leon Tsui – London Underground
David Wren – London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL)
Outstanding Contribution to Transport in London sponsored by Siemens
Winner: Valerie Shawcross CBE, Chair, Transport Committee, GLA
Outstanding Contribution to Local Transport in London
Winner: Councillor Julian Bell, Leader, Ealing Council
Outstanding Contribution to Transport across London
Winner: Sir Peter Hendy CBE
Lifetime Contribution to Transport in London
Winner: Stuart Ross, Transport for London
LUL Station Customer Service Team of the Year endorsed by Transport for London
Winner: Totteridge & Whetstone
The awards are organised by Transport Times Events
For further information contact: Transport Times Events on 0207 828 3804.
Images can be obtained from www.simply-photography.co.uk
Contact Grant Poulton, Managing Director
Tel: 02070368574
Email: [email protected]
