Bucks bus operator announces five fantastic finalists for prestigious awards

The Stagecoach Excellence Awards features all that is best at the operator, and this year many of the awards focus on its renewed Values.

So, Charlton Thornhill, Head of Commercial, has been shortlisted in the ‘We plan for the future’ category, and both Ian de Chastelain, Training Manager, and Simon Woollard, Training Officer, for ‘We do the right thing’.

Meanwhile, Peter Collins, Engineering Manager Peterborough and Fenstanton depots, and Martin Marsh, Operations Manager at Cambridge, have been made finalists for Employee of the Year.

Ian and Simon have stood out for their work on Buses and Businesses Against Abuse, a partnership between Stagecoach East, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Police Authority, and the Cambridge and Peterborough Rape Crisis Centre.

Under the scheme, Stagecoach East’s existing safeguarding procedures are being enhanced with additional training: drivers are being trained to recognise people who are in vulnerable situations either on or off the bus – and are being given guidance in how to offer help.

Meanwhile, Peter won the Society of Operations Engineers’ prestigious Safety and Resilience in Engineering Award for Road Transport Engineer of the Year 2024.

Darren Roe, Managing Director of Stagecoach East, said: “The competition to get on a shortlist for the Stagecoach Excellence Awards is always intense – I believe that there were over 600 entries this year. So, to have five finalists is a fantastic achievement, and I just wish them all the best – they all represent everything that is best in how we run buses in our region.”