Organisers of the Bus Driver of the Year (BDoY) competition, which will take place in Blackpool over the weekend of 1-2 October, have revealed that entry numbers for the 2022 national final have exceeded those recorded the previous time it was held in 2019.
89 entrants from England, Scotland and Wales will compete despite ongoing challenges facing the industry, each bidding to claim the Bus Driver of the Year title. It was most recently won by Lothian’s Adam Stitt in 2019, when 82 contestants took part.
Bus Driver of the Year Association Chair Joe Mackie has welcomed the strong numbers. He notes that the BDOY team is looking forward to welcoming new competitors and previous finalists to this year’s gathering.
“We are very pleased that the competition still commands widespread support from its sponsors and entrant operating companies, with the national final a fantastic place for the drivers’ skills and commitment to excellent customer service to be displayed.”
The Association has published a comprehensive list of entrants for the 2022 national final, as follows:
Arriva: Craig Elston, Ron Crichton, Chris Neale, Bennette Okyere
Blackpool Transport Services: Heath Jones
First Cymru: Daryl Jones, Glenn Foster, Philip Connor
First Eastern Counties: Shaun Rodgers, Gareth Hughes
First Glasgow: Kevin O’Hare, Robert Rydzynski
First Hampshire, Dorset and Berkshire: Rob Symms, Carl Evans
First Manchester: Paul Nuttall, Paul Metcalfe, Adam Hodges, David Hodges
First South Yorkshire and Midlands: Tim Jennings, Tony Lavender, Andrew Potter, Bart Van Puyvelde, Stu Yarrow, Simon Gore, Jon Frith
First West of England: Andy Evered, Ben Hillier, Stuart Beetison
First West Yorkshire: Shezad Afzal, Paul Leppington, Michael Leech, Toqeer Zaroof, Chris Rayner
Go-Ahead London: Stephen Appiah, Barry Thorne, Joseph Jay, Muhammad Harun, Raj Viswanathan, Alessandro Didone
Go North East: Nick Perry, Anne-Marie Goth Riley
Go South Coast: Daniel Duffy, Dave Grantins, Vinod Ramachandran, Barry Walker, Mick Paul
Lothian Buses: Kevin Chalmers, Thomas Gilhooley, Eamon Elrick
McGills Scotland East: Tamassa Jarra
National Express West Midlands: Chris Neal, Lee Grantham, Justin Thompson
Oxford Bus Company: Ricardo McIntosh, Dominik Nahrebecki
PeoplesBus: Kevin Lewington, Andrew Cawley
Plymouth Citybus: Kyly Summerfield, Kimberley Rushford
Preston Bus: Darren Dalton, Matthew Rood
RATP Dev Transit London: Nimish Jamnadas, Haden Stacy, Kastriot Lika
Stagecoach Bluebird: Mark Goodall
Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire: Martin Shaplin, David Hind
Stagecoach East: Allison Clark
Stagecoach East Midlands: Shaun Roche
Stagecoach East Scotland: Brian MacKie, Ian Field
Stagecoach Highlands: Vicki McCormac
Stagecoach Manchester: Arthur Rowling, Robert Lysaght, Joshua Irving
Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire and South Lancashire: Vasco Costa, Momchil Stanislavou
Stagecoach South: Haydon Hebb, Nathan Beer
Stagecoach South East: Jason Wanstall
Stagecoach South Wales: Michael Evans
Stagecoach South West: Kirstie Hardy
Stagecoach West: Anthony Quinn, Marcus Warner, Robin Aris
Stagecoach West Scotland: Stuart Fleming.
