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
