Nottingham City Transport has unveiled its 23rd named bus with Uni 34 – and former Driver of the Year winner – Safdar Ali, taking the honour.
The unveiling coincided with Safdar’s last day driving the Uni 34 bus to University Park Campus, which he has driven since the route started 12 years ago.
Joining NCT in 2000, Safdar has been a friendly and familiar face to University of Nottingham staff and students since 2006 when the 34 – then named ‘Unilink 34’ began.
Safdar has played an important part in the success of the route, which now operates up to every 5 minutes on weekdays with 86-seat double-deckers.
He says: “I have really enjoyed my time on the 34, seeing it grow over the years to become such a popular service. It’s been lovely to see the journey students make from arriving at University through until their graduation, and I will miss them and the many staff who I’ve got to know”.
After the Bank Holiday weekend, Safdar will join current NCT Driver of the Year, Aaron Johnson on Purple 89.