Nominations for the 2023 routeone Awards will close shortly, with a reminder issued to the industry to take advantage and put its best people and its finest operators on the path to recognition at the coach and bus industry’s Oscars in November.
The process behind nominating is simple, and it is completed online and in confidence via a form on the routeone Awards website. Once nominations close, all of those that were put forward will be contacted and invited to submit an entry.
From there, the seven-strong judging panel of senior industry figures will go to work and ultimately decide upon the winners. Those parties will be announced at the presentation evening on Wednesday 8 November at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in an event that will sit alongside trade show Coach & Bus UK.
Nominations are open in all 15 of the 16 categories where they are accepted; outstanding is the Special Award, which is entirely at the judges’ discretion:
- Rising Star
- Manager of the Year, small/medium operator (up to 150 vehicles)
- Manager of the Year, large operator (over 150 vehicles)
- Outstanding Customer Experience
- Engineer of the Year, small/medium operator (up to 150 vehicles)
- Engineer of the Year, large operator (over 150 vehicles)
- Coach Tourism Programme of the Year
- Best Use of Technology (up to 150 vehicles)
- Best Use of Technology (over 150 vehicles)
- Environment Award
- Small Coach Operator of the Year (1-15 coaches)
- Medium Coach Operator of the Year (16-40 coaches)
- Small/Medium Bus Operator of the Year (up to 150 buses)
- Large Coach Operator of the Year (over 40 coaches)
- Large Bus Operator of the Year (over 150 buses).
Criteria for each category can be read on the routeone Awards website.
Nominations are accepted from the supplier side of the industry and, in people categories, also via third-party recommendation or by individuals directly if endorsed by the business’s proprietor, Managing Director or Chief Executive.
It remains the case that all nominators will be entered into a draw to win a £500 media spend with routeone. That prize applies to both print and digital formats, and additionally includes recruitment advertising and routeone Trader membership. However, entries to the draw will close at the same time as nominations and so the advice is to move quickly.
Early nominations received indicate strong interest in this year’s Awards. Notably, the category making its debut in 2023 – Coach Tourism Programme of the Year – has made an excellent start, but traction is strong across all categories, capturing coach and bus alike – as just seven months remain until the presentation evening.
