Nottingham City Transport — England’s largest arms length municipal company — swept the board at the 2019 UK Bus Awards, taking five top honours including Operator of the Year for a fifth time in 15 years. Managing director Mark Fowles was presented with the Services to the Bus Industry award sponsored by Buses.
This was NCT’s second successive win as Operator of the Year — the top award presented in London on 19 November — which is decided in a final run-off by the winners of the Top City, Top Shire and Top Independent Operator awards, with the result determined by mystery passengers putting the services to the test against over 30 criteria.
Their findings in Nottingham reflect a 10-year record of high customer satisfaction scores. Among the factors that helped place NCT top in the City Operator category were its investment in 130 Alexander Dennis Enviro400CBG City-bodied biogas Scania double-deckers and exhaust upgrades of 180 of its remaining diesel buses.
It has achieved a further 1.3% growth in patronage on its stable route network, an 11% uplift in the number of young people travelling and has taken over two hitherto subsidised park-&-ride services on a commercial basis.
Judges were also impr…
