The 2025 UK Bus Driver of the Year National Final in Blackpool on Sunday 14 September will welcome 101 entrants representing 28 bus operators in England, Scotland and Wales, event organisers have confirmed.
They will challenge for the coveted title of Bus Driver of the Year, which was won in 2024 by Lothian East Coast Buses man Thomas Gilhooley (pictured). He will return to Blackpool in 2025 to defend that crown.
Chairman of the UK Bus Driver of the Year Association Joe Mackie notes how 30% of the competitors in 2025 will be first-time entrants to the National Final. He has thanked those drivers along with their employers and the contest’s staff and sponsors for supporting the competition.
Entrants to the National Final must consider themselves as working for the imaginary Middle Walk Bus Company, which aspires to reflect both the industry’s best practices and DVSA requirements.
The hypothetical bus operator makes available to competitors and event marshals details of its policies and required standards.
Such items include pre-service vehicle checks, driving style and practice, and positioning at stops in terms of how the door opens relative to the post and how the step is relevant to the pavement edge. Standards of dress and a requirement to refrain from smoking during stand time are also included, and competitors must undergo a breathalyser test.
Drivers will start from Middle Walk Bus Station and follow a simulated route that may include hazards typically met during the working day such as parked cars, bus stops, and speed checks.
The driving test is completed by contestants on private and public roads in full compliance with the Highway Code, and they must keep to a schedule that is distributed at the beginning of proceedings.
Start time is 0800hrs on Sunday 14 September from behind the Metropole Hotel adjacent to North Pier, with the event using the customary Imperial Hotel as its base.
