Top accolade for bus company

WARRINGTON Borough Transport has won the highest accolade in the industry, UK Bus Operator of the Year.
More than 750 industry movers and shakers involved in the growing success of the UK’s bus industry attended a glittering ceremony in London to help celebrate WBT’s well-deserved win.
The local Warrington bus operator, which serves many areas including Lymm, Stockton Heath, Thelwall, Latchford and Burtonwood, beat off stiff competition from a shortlist of 11 bus operators in the UK to win the overall Bus Operator of The Year Awards as well as Shire Operator of the Year.
The award judges, some of the most respected public transport professional in the UK, acknowledged how WBT has transformed the quality of bus travel in Warrington with its constant investment in vehicles, and innovative local marketing initiatives.
UK Bus Awards chairman John Owen said that the standard of entries had been “amazingly high”.
He added, “Our winners today are delivering innovation and marketing, supported by top quality customer service.
The result is strong passenger growth and a shift from car to bus in towns and cities all over the country.”
John Bannister, MD at WBT, said: “Achieving national recognition for the hard work and dedication to customers of all our staff is fantastic. It has been a real team effort, and the staff can feel really proud of what they have achieved.
“Our recent customer satisfaction ratings of 98% impressed the judges and the UK Bus Awards’ mystery traveller who travelled on our local routes confirmed our drivers’ commitment to excellence.”
He went on to say: “The Board of Directors, who have been tremendously supportive of the company throughout, realise that receiving this accolade does not mean that the job is complete, and that we can rest on our laurels. We know that there are improvements that can still be achieved to further enhance our service to the travelling public in an environmentally friendly way and we will be working very hard to implement these.”
The award judges added: “Warrington Borough Transport is the truly deserving bus operator of the year 2008.”