Thamesdown Transport is celebrating after taking home two accolades at the UK Bus Awards, held in November at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel in London.
Although narrowly missing out on the top titles, Thamesdown came runner up in the Claudia Flanders Accessibility Award for their talking bus scheme and highly commended in the category of Shire Operator of the Year.
Speaking about Thamesdown’s talking buses scheme, the judges praised the way it had been funded commercially despite the recession, and that these and other initiatives had been developed involving a strong partnership in the community with individuals and groups representing people with disabilities.
The judges were also impressed by Thamesdown’s relationship with its passengers, including the regular customer newsletter and the customer charter, its newly-revamped website, the close relationship with its local authority partners and other stakeholders, and its commitment to environmental considerations.
Paul Jenkins, managing director of Thamesdown, said: “It’s a huge honour just to be shortlisted for these awards and we’re pleased to have taken home the runner up and highly commended accolades for these fiercely competitive categories.
“We’re very proud to have the efforts of our staff and our commitment to serving the community recognised on a national scale.”
Congratulating all the successful finalists, UK Bus Awards chairman John Owen commented: “It is my great pleasure to congratulate all the winners, runners-up and highly commended entries in what has been an extremely competitive 2010 UK Bus Awards.
“Despite the harsh economic climate and other pressures, we have again been hugely impressed by the commitment to quality and innovation shown by bus companies and their partners. This means that the industry is well placed to meet its twin aims of increasing passenger numbers and encouraging car users onto public transport,” Mr Jenkins said.
For more information on Thamesdown, please visit www.thamesdown-transport.co.uk
