Stagecoach named Public Transport Operator of the Year for East Scotland bus operations

Stagecoach has been named Public Transport Operator of the Year for its East Scotland bus operations at the 2019 Scottish Transport Awards.

The awards were presented last night in Glasgow where Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson MSP welcomed 450 industry professionals to recognise excellence and innovation across the transport sector.

Stagecoach East Scotland scooped the main Public Transport Operator of the Year award for the high quality of its operations across Fife, Dundee, Angus and Perthshire and its investment in a range of improvements for customers.
It was the third year running that the company had been shortlisted for the award and it was shortlisted in a total six categories in this year's competition. Stagecoach East Scotland also scooped three gold awards at the recent UK Coach Awards.

Key initiatives by Stagecoach East Scotland over the past year have included:

• investment of £5.2m in 19 innovative low access coaches for use on parts of the Express City Connect network
• network improvements, including better connectivity to employment areas along the M8 corridor from South Fife and West Lothian
• investment in the Taylink route
• ticketing initiatives for young people
• the roll-out of contactless payments across the fleet

Speaking at the Scottish Transport Awards, Michael Matheson paid tribute to the inspiring transport teams who "have gone above and beyond over the past year" and made" a positive impact".

Douglas Robertson, Managing Director of Stagecoach East Scotland, said: "Being named Public Transport Operator of the Year is a fantastic tribute to our frontline and behind-the-scenes teams who work hard all year round to deliver the best possible service to our customers.

"The investments we've made in new greener and more accessible vehicles and new technology, along with our focus on value travel and employee training, are making a positive impact on the travel experience for our customers. It's also resulted in more people seeing bus and coach as attractive and convenient options which are also better for our environment."

Stagecoach East Scotland operates local bus and coach services across Fife, Perthshire, Dundee and Angus and into Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Aberdeen. The company employs more than 1300 people at nine depots across the region and carries around 32 million passengers per year using around 470 buses and coaches.

In a recent bus passenger survey by customer watchdog Transport Focus, Stagecoach East Scotland achieved the highest satisfaction score of any operator in the UK at 97%.

ENDS