Quinn’s Coach Hire, Travelstar European (pictured, above) and Bruce Coaches driver Martin Hanlon were among the winners at the National Express Operator Partnership Awards for performance in 2024.
The scheme is now in its 17th year and presentations were made recently at the Windmill Village Hotel in Coventry.
Each of the 30 National Express partner operators from the UK and Ireland is measured via an evaluation table. The winners are determined by their performance and scores in areas such as driver excellence, coach cleanliness and quality, and customer service.
Network Operator of the Year was Travelstar European. The Walsall business gained that award based on what National Express says is “consistent gold standard performance in operations and engineering.”
Those factors were further represented for Travelstar European in both the Operational Manager of the Year and Engineer of the Year categories. They went to its employees Craig Jackson and Asan Fazal, respectively.
Best Fleet went to Quinn’s Coach Hire, while Mr Hanlon was crowned Driver of the Year for 2024. Awards were made by recently installed National Express CEO Kevin Gale.
Speaking about the list of honour, Network Director Ed Rickard says: “Our operators play an essential role in our network, and we are delighted to recognise their hard work, dedication and outstanding service through our annual awards.
“We are proud to have them onboard and extend our heartfelt thanks and congratulations to all the winners.”
The full list of winners is:
Overall Operator of the Year: Travelstar European
Driver of the Year: Martin Hanlon, Bruce Coaches
Best Fleet: Quinn’s Coach Hire
Operator of the Year (1-5 vehicles): E Stott and Sons
Operator of the Year (6-10 vehicles): Bennetts Coaches
Operator of the Year (11-20 vehicles): Travelstar European
Operator of the Year (21+ vehicles):Â Edwards Coaches Wales
Most Improved Operator: Skills Motor Coaches
Operational Manager of the Year: Craig Jackson, Travelstar European
Engineer of the Year: Asan Fazal, Travelstar European
Driving Out Harm Award: E Stott and Sons
Go Green Award: Bruce Coaches
Customer Experience Excellence: Galloway European.
In addition, National Express has presented Golden Spanner Awards to the following operators for consistently meeting and exceeding expectations and introducing best practice across engineering:
Ambassador Travel, Bennetts Coaches, Bruce Coaches, Chalfont Coaches of Harrow, Edwards Coaches Bristol, Edwards Coaches Wales, Lucketts Bournemouth, Lucketts Travel, National Express Start Hill, National Express Luton, National Express Transport Solutions Aston, National Express London, Oxford Bus Company, Parks of Hamilton (Plymouth), Selwyns Travel (Runcorn), Selwyns Travel (Manchester), E Stott and Sons, The Kings Ferry Dover, and Travelstar European.
