Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire has marked 50 years of service to the operator and its predecessors by driver Mohmed Hanif Panchbhaya, who started with then-National Bus Company subsidiary Ribble in Preston in 1976.
He remains based at the Stagecoach depot in Preston and now at 66 years of age has no plans to stop working despite being officially retired.
Mr Panchbhaya joined Ribble as a parcels assistant at 16, having moved to the UK from India with his parents when he was five years old. His first responsibilities were to look after parcels carried by Ribble vehicles and the operator’s internal mail.
“You had to be 18 to be a conductor and 21 to be a driver,” he recalls. “So I did about two-and-a-half years in the parcel office, then two-and-a-half years as a conductor, and since 1980 I have been driving at Preston depot all the time.”
Stagecoach took over the remaining Ribble operations in the late-1980s. Mr Panchbhaya adds that ownership changes matter little. “At the end of the day, if you just do your job, everybody is happy. You do what you are told and that is it,” he observes.
A family life in his 30s with three daughters benefited from the security of bus employment, he adds. He now has three grandchildren.
“I have had no complaints. You get your ups and downs – it is normal life. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes you have a bad day. Managers come and go, but that is just how it is.”
Work remains enjoyable to Mr Panchbhaya, and while he might reduce the number of hours he puts in over coming years, he remains keen to continue.
Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire Managing Director Tom Waterhouse has thanked Mr Panchbhaya for his service, noting that a half-century is a major achievement.
“His dedication, reliability, and commitment to serving the people of Preston over five decades is truly commendable. Panchy is a much valued member of the depot team. On behalf of Stagecoach, I would like to thank Mohmed for his outstanding contribution and congratulate him on this remarkable career.”
