The best of London's transport industry were honoured last night at the 14th Annual London Transport Awards with 400 industry professionals in attendance. Hosted by Channel 4 News Presenter Cathy Newman the ceremony was held at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel. Now in their fourteenth year the Awards recognise the people and organisations that make a real difference to transport across London.
The London Borough of Waltham Forest picked up the top award of the night for Transport Borough of the Year; MTR Crossrail took the Rail Operator of the Year title while East London Bus & Coach Co (Stagecoach London) won Bus Operator of the Year.
Winners of Transport Borough, Waltham Forest have had a fantastic year and it continues to support growth by investing in sustainable local transport infrastructure. The Enjoy Waltham Forest (mini-Holland) programme is investing £27m to improve cycling and walking and encourage modal shift from car use. A target of 10% cycling mode share has been set, in addition to a reduction in short car trips from 40% of all journeys to 35%. The council also recognises the importance of reliable bus services and is working with TfL to find ways to reduce journey times.
Rail Operator of the Year, sponsored by Bombardier Transportation, was won by MTR Crossrail which has overseen a drastic improvement in performance and continues to exceed its own performance targets. Its public performance measure moving annual average has risen from 91.21% to 94.38%.
Bus Operator of the Year, endorsed by TfL, was presented to East London Bus & Coach Co (Stagecoach London) who received the fewest customer complaints per 100,000 passengers of the five operators shortlisted and the second fewest reliability complaints.
MBNA Thames Clippers were in receipt of the new Employer of the Year award. MBNA Thames Clippers carries 4 million passengers annually. The company employs 316 people, 20 of whom have worked for the company for over 10 years. Thames Clippers offers employees the opportunity to obtain nationally and internationally recognised qualifications, notably the Boat Master's Licence.
A new award was introduced commemorate the life and achievements of Stuart Ross, Transport for London's Director of News, who sadly passed away last year. Sponsored by Go-Ahead the Stuart Ross Young Transport Communications Professional of the Year Award was won by Sandeep Dhillon Head of London Underground Press Desk, Transport for London. Sandeep joined the TfL press office in 2009 on the BAME internship scheme championed by Stuart Ross as a way to rectify the lack of diversity in the transport sector, the media relations sector and TfL itself. At only 29, Sandeep has risen from a press office intern to leading media relations for London Underground.
Two special individual awards were given out on the night. Outstanding Contribution to Transport Across London, sponsored by Siemens was awarded Roger Blake, Railfuture, formerly of Hackney Council. Roger is an unsung hero who worked for Hackney Council and their residents for 24 years. Many years of passenger counts and work with fellow campaigners led to more and better train services for Cambridge Heath and London Fields stations. Without Roger, Homerton station may well still be closed, Hackney Wick station would not have step-free access and there would be no direct interchange between Hackney Central and Hackney Downs.
Councillor Heather Acton, Westminster City Council was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution to Local Transport in London honour. Councillor Acton has welcomed EV based car sharing based in Westminster with Zipcar introducing electric VW Golfs. She has also developed a number of innovative neighbourhood plans for different parts of Westminster which, if implemented, would encourage greater use of active travel.
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, Formerly the Corporate Director of Services, London Councils and David Leam, Infrastructure Director, London First.
Mike Brown MVO, Transport Commissioner, Transport for London said:
"The London Transport Awards are one of our industry's finest opportunities to recognise and thank the transport professionals who have dedicated themselves to supporting the Capital's continued success.
It takes a huge coordinated effort to safely deliver 30 million journeys across the Capital each day. The challenges that come with serving our city are growing, as London's population increases from 8.6m now to 10m by 2030.
Yet that is precisely what our city's planners, builders, engineers, operators, technology and customer service experts – and many other transport professionals - work together to provide every day. And they meet this demand with energy, drive and determination. I'm proud of the role played by my staff at TfL and those in London's boroughs and across our transport services in keeping our city moving, working and growing.
Every single journey matters if we are to make life in London better. I am delighted that the London Transport Awards allow us to celebrate the talent across the sector that goes into the services and investment projects so vital for growth and for the future of our city."
The full list of award winners and those who were highly commended is as follows:
Transport Borough of the Year endorsed by TfL
Winner: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Excellence in Cycling and Walking sponsored by PWLC
Winner: Cycle Training UK and Lambeth Council, Positive Spin and Silver Cycling
Most Effective Road Safety, Traffic Management & Enforcement sponsored by First
Winner: London Borough of Bromley, The Evolution of Road Safety
Bus Operator of the Year endorsed by TfL
Winner: East London Bus & Coach Co (Stagecoach London)
Rail Operator of the Year sponsored by Bombardier
Winner: MTR Crossrail
Most Innovative Transport Project
Winner: Virgin Trains, Digital Ease of Boarding (DEBs) at Euston
Contribution to Sustainable Transport
Winner: Go-Ahead London, Waterloo Bus Garage - Electric Bus Project
Excellence in Technology
Winner: KeolisAmey Docklands, Self-Powered Rail Condition Monitoring
Transport Team/Partnership of the Year
Winner: Baker Street Quarter Partnership, Smarter Deliveries and Smarter Recycling
Transport Supplier of the Year
Winner: Trueform Engineering Ltd
Transport Consultant of the Year
Winner: Steer Davies Gleave, Helping London grow: through partnership, innovation & efficiency
Excellence in Travel Information and Marketing
Winner: Transport for London, Enhanced On Board Next Stop Sign
Highly Commend: Westminster City Council, Anti Engine Idling Campaign
Airport of the Year sponsored by Amey
Winner: London City Airport
Frontline Employee of the Year sponsored by Rail Delivery Group
Winner: Ayesha Sheikh, Customer Sales Experience, Assistant, MTR Crossrail
Highly Commend: Godfred Boateng, Customer Service Assistant, Network Rail (High Speed)
Highly Commend: Jerome Creary, Revenue Control Inspector, London Underground
Highly Commend: Hayley Hudson, Customer Service Assistant, Transport for London
Highly Commend: Philip Lawrence, Customer Service Assistant, London Underground
Highly Commend: Paul Naylor, Customer Service Assistant, London Underground
Highly Commend: Danny Petrie, Bus Driver, Stagecoach London
Highly Commend: Dave Waller, Bus Driver, Stagecoach London
Employer of the Year
Winner: MBNA Thames Clippers
Outstanding Contribution to Transport Across London sponsored by Siemens
Winner: Roger Blake
Outstanding Contribution to Local Transport in London sponsored by AECOM
Winner: Councillor Heather Acton, City of Westminster
The Stuart Ross; Young Transport Communications Professional of the Year Award sponsored by Go-Ahead
Winner: Sandeep Dhillon, Transport for London
Highly Commend: Emma Love, MTR Crossrail
Highly Commend: Jane Sherry, London Borough of Waltham Forest
LUL Station Customer Service Team endorsed by TfL
Winner: Camden Town
Notes to editors:
Judges for the awards:-
- Chair: David Begg, Chief Executive, Transport Times
- Janet Cooke, Chief Executive, London TravelWatch
- Nick Lester Davis, latterly Corporate Services Director, London Councils
- David Leam, Infrastructure Director, LondonFirst
A full review of the awards will appear in the April issue of Transport Times magazine, published on 31 March 2017
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 Kirsty Walton, Events Coordinator
Tel: 02070368573
Email: [email protected]
