Three First Cymru bus drivers have driven their way into the final of the national Bus Driver of the Year competition.
Paul Wakeman, Simon Rogers and Aaron Wells will head to Blackpool on Saturday 6 September, where they will compete against 106 finalists from across the country.
Paul Wakeman and Aaron Wells are based at the operator’s Tycroes depot near Ammanford, with Simon Rogers based in Swansea. All three were selected after First put its drivers through a series of tests over the past year.
Among those standing between them and the title is the current holder, Michael Leech, another First Bus driver, based at the company’s Halifax depot.
To pick its finalists, First Bus used what it calls Driver Quality Monitoring, where members of its training school ride a bus in service, assessing the driver without warning.
Assessors score performance, technical skill and manoeuvres arriving at and leaving stops, along with how drivers deal with their passengers.
Records of driving performance over the past 12 months were also weighed up, including Green Road, a daily score of how well a driver controls speed, braking and turning during a shift, plus any accidents or near-misses and customer feedback.
Craig Pemberton, driver training excellence manager at First Bus, said the company’s drivers “deliver day in, day out for customers with skill and dedication”.
He said the trio would face tough competition from around the country, including colleagues from other depots, adding: “I wish all of them the best of luck in the finals and hope we can again call one of our drivers the Bus Driver of the Year.”
First Bus is adding its own prizes on top of the national title, with £1,000 for its highest-placed driver in the finals and £500 for second place.
First Cymru runs bus services across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire from depots including Tycroes and Swansea.
The Bus Driver of the Year final is held annually in Blackpool, testing driving skill and customer service against the best drivers from operators across the UK.
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