Up for the cup! Yorkshire’s champion bus drivers compete for Pride of the North Trophy

Bus firm Transdev’s award to salute its customers’ favourites

They’re the Pride of the North – and they’re up for the cup!

Yorkshire bus firm Transdev’s unsung heroes who drive thousands of people to work, the shops or an amazing day out are competing for a specially created Pride of the North trophy to celebrate the best of the best.

The bus firm is reviving its Pride of the North Cup to salute its drivers who receive the most positive feedback from customers for their smooth and safe travels and friendly welcome on board.

Customers can nominate any driver they feel has gone the extra mile to give them an amazing journey by emailing: PrideoftheNorthCup@transdevbus.co.uk.

To be in with a chance to win, its drivers will also have built up a first-class attendance record at work, along with top marks from Greenroad, the electronic vehicle and driver performance monitoring system fitted to every Transdev bus.

Drivers based at all 10 of the bus firm’s depots across Yorkshire and the North West will compete for the Pride of the North trophy.

The Academy, Transdev’s network of in-house training centres, is supporting the revitalised Pride of the North Cup by offering extra support and advice covering smooth and safe driving, plus tips on providing excellent customer care.

Each month, Transdev’s top performing driver will receive the Pride of the North Cup, plus a certificate to keep along with a monthly prize. The award will be given in a surprise presentation on their bus in front of their customers by the company’s CEO Alex Hornby, and Operations Director Vitto Pizzuti.

Transdev CEO Alex Hornby said: “We originally commissioned our Pride of the North trophy in 2019, to encourage the highest standards of customer care among our driving teams in Yorkshire and the North West.

“Our first winner back then was the late and much-missed Billy Crute, a driver with Coastliner based at Malton in North Yorkshire. Billy was an excellent driver and ambassador for our company and won praise from many of our customers for his polite and helpful approach to customer care and his sheer enthusiasm.

“After an enforced break due to the pandemic, we’re bringing back our trophy for 2023. Skilled and safe driving, with a friendly welcome and excellent customer care are the qualities we’re looking for.

“It’s our way to show our commitment to looking after and thanking our colleagues for their hard work and rewarding the best customer service.

“For us, the most important thing is positive feedback from our customers – that’s why we encourage everyone who has an exceptional journey with us to nominate their driver by email. With so many excellent drivers across all our depots, it’ll be a tough challenge to select a winner each month to receive the Pride of the North Cup.”

Full details of all Transdev bus routes across Yorkshire and beyond are available online at: transdevbus.co.uk and on the free to download Transdev Go mobile app.