Sponsored by  What is the award for? This award is designed to recognise the skills and effort required to bring a new product or service to the market. Winner Elaine Rosscraig is the Research and Development Manager of Stagecoach UK Bus, a post she has held since April 2001. Prior to this, she held a similar position at Scottish and Southern Energy. Elaine assembled her team, recruiting staff and developing the processes. by which the team delivers. Elaine's role is extremely varied and includes primary and secondary Research, direct marketing, data analysis, marketing communication and staff satisfaction.
The highly innovative work done by Elaine and her team at Stagecoach has both delivered a large number of new users to Stagecoach’s bus networks around the country, and pioneered a whole range of direct sales and marketing techniques in an industry which until now has made little use of them. The judges were particularly impressed by the hard work and thinking that Elaine had deployed in devising and implementing the programmes, recruiting, training and managing her team and the degree of team working within the group and with outside stakeholders.
Highly Commended Over 18 years, Omnibus Systems has produced reliable, easy to use software for the passenger transport industry. Each module is tried and tested in use, underpinning over 150 client sites around the UK. Over the last 2 years, Omnibus have developed several software modules that takes core data from OmniTIMES and OmniBASE, already created for other purposes, for many other functions.
Peter has a consistent record of innovation in the development of software tools for the bus industry, covering scheduling, timetable development and associated activities. The judges were impressed by his commitment to continuous improvement and product development to help the industry take maximum advantage of new technological developments.
 Textus is a text based multilingual enquiry and response travel information service. It provides bus and domestic/international airline service information to the general public by mobile telephone, offering in excess of 30 million journeys of award winning bus operators Western Greyhound, Norfolk Green and (prior to their sale) Truronian, plus air travel links provided by Air Southwest.
The judges thought that Kevin’s work in making SMS messaging on transport information available to smaller operators represented a very welcome development, helping the sector as a whole to provide flexible information in a new and accessible format.
Specially Commended Walter Herring is Risk Manager for Arriva North East, and for four years has led the company's safety and risk management strategy. He has transformed the safety culture within the company and contributed to the adoption of best practice throughout the group. Walter's drive and determination have delivered some outstanding results in accident reduction and safety improvement.
Though not strictly within the published criteria, the judges and PTMA organisers were anxious to offer special congratulations to Walter for his pioneering work in leading Arriva North East’s safety and risk management strategy. This is a decidedly unfashionable area of management, but well implemented policies can deliver huge benefits to the reputation and financial performance of the industry – as well as contributing significantly to improved safety for customers and employees alike – as is clearly the case with Arriva North East.
Commended Austin Birks has pioneered the recruitment and training of Polish drivers to a high standard, initially for FirstGroup, and subsequently for Go-Ahead Group. He has been recognized by the European Union for his "outstanding individual contribution” to the EU (December 2006) and by the UK Bus Awards, winning the 'Runner Up' prize in the Innovation category in November 2007. Heralded throughout Europe as an authority on positive and ethical recruitment, he is a true innovator.
The judges were impressed by Austin's innovative work in devising and implementing the ARTI project, which made a pioneering and invaluable contribution to the bus industry's recruitment and training of a vital resource in the battle to deliver reliable services.
Who could be nominated? This award was open to anybody working within or in organisations associated with the public passenger transport industry. Nominees could therefore include people working for: transport operators manufacturers consultancies industry suppliers local authorities
Criteria and Entry Requirements The judges were looking for the individual who has been responsible for the most innovative development in  passenger transport in the year. This award will be made to the person responsible for an innovation which, in the opinion of the judges, most contributes to the improvement of a product in public passenger transport. Evidence of quantification of the benefits achieved is essential. Entries were judged on the overall quality of the submissions, which should provide evidence to show: that the nominated individual was primarily or principally responsible for the delivery of the project(s), including the setting of specific objectives, the achievement of those objectives and the learning of lessons from the project that the project represented the development of an original or novel idea that achieved one or more of the following: improved the perception of one or more public transport modes improved access to one or more public transport modes, or improved interchange between them stimulated interest in, or desire for, a public transport product improved the efficiency of one or more public transport modes
|
The 2008 Awards