Lothian People Awards 2024 Survey

1.Driving Champion - East Coast Buses

Alex Fleming – With a great driving record, Alex is an all round good guy and an excellent member of the driving team at East Coast Buses. With a few commendations under his belt, he's committed to delivering for his customers and is very supportive of his colleagues.

Kamil Szczurowski – Kamil is a real role model for drivers joining our team at East Coast Buses. Always helpful and supportive, he became our Lead Driver earlier this year and has gone from strength to strength since then.

2.Driving Champion - Edinburgh Bus Tours

Graham Rigby – Formerly a guide at Edinburgh Bus Tours, Graham has brought his passion and knowledge for the city to his role as a tour driver. A hit with customers and colleagues alike, Grama is a reliable driver, willing to help us out of a jam whenever he can. He's a real pleasure to work beside.

Karen Peat – Karen is always cheery, helpful, and is a real asset to the Edinburgh Bus Tours team. With a background in driving service buses, Karen came to the team as a seasonal driver and soon her passion shone through on tours. Popular with colleagues and visitors, her enthusiasm and commitment is always clearly on show.

3.Driving Champion - Lothian Buses

Merlin Davies – Merlin is an absolute asset at Central, displaying true professionalism and proving himself to be an exceptional team player. With an excellent driving record, he is an absolute pleasure to have as a member of the driving team at Central.

Joyce Inglis – Joyce is a popular member of our driving team. She has a cheerful outlook towards the Airlink service, and is enthusiastic about delivering exceptional customer service. Customers can always expect a warm welcome, a friendly hello and a big smile. She always takes pride in her vehicle, ensuring that those travelling with us receive a five-star service.

Karen Skivington – Karen is an exceptional driver and an invaluable member of the driving team at Longstone. She brings smiles to the faces of everyone she meets, and commendations from customers describe her as as 'asset to Lothian'. Going above and beyond is second nature to her, as is her work ethic and commitment to the company.

Kumar Tamang - Kumar is a hardworking, happy and pleasant colleague within our team at Marine. He openly enjoys his job and this is evident in the way he conducts himself, and he is extremely flexible and helpful in our day to day operation. A real team player with a can do attitude!

4.Driving Champion - Lothian Country

Zak Bolonkowski – Zak is an upbeat, cheery driver who lifts everyone's mood at the depot in Livingston - in short, he's a wonderfully positive person to be around. He has excellent customer service and incident records, and is a real asset to the Lothian Country team.

Kevin McDonagh - Kevin is a huge character at Lothian Country, lifting the spirits of all the drivers and always going above and beyond when it comes to his colleagues and customers. Always willing to help anyone in need, he's a great asset to the business.

5.Driving Champion - Lothian Motorcoaches

Brian Shankland – Dedicated to customer service and safe driving, Brian frequently tours the UK and Ireland with Lothian Motorcoaches. Throughout the year commendations from guests compliment him on both his driving and attitude. Brian also champions new drivers to the business, mentoring and supporting them from the start of training and beyond. An eager member of the team, Brian strives to deliver excellence at every turn.

Mark Charles - Mark has been a hugely influential part of the team and has quickly progressed within the Lothian Motorcoaches team, moving rapidly from local work to undertaking tours across the UK with fantastic customer feedback. Mark has been a great role model for drivers joining our team, and has taken a leading role in providing support and mentoring to new colleagues.

6.Driving Champion - Eve Coaches

Russell Louden - Russell has been invaluable to the Eve Coaches team in keeping routes reliable, sharing his wealth of knowledge, and offering opinions and suggestions when roadworks and diversions crop up. All this while helping new staff with questions or queries.

Neil McPherson – Neil is a long-standing team member at Eve Coaches and is a very personable colleague who has a great rapport with all his customers. No task is ever too much, and he's a real asset to our driving team.

7.Engineer of the Year

Shaun Kenneally – Shaun is a fantastic coachbuilder and an important member of the team at Seafield. A self-starter, when some new equipment to make panels was introduced, he spent a lot of his own time learning how to navigate the software to identify what tools were required which demonstrates his capabilities and commitment. Reliable and dependable, particularly for last-minute time-sensitive jobs, Shaun always steps up to the mark and delivers.

David McIntyre – Working as part of the Engineering Team at Longstone, David is very knowledgeable in his role and is a great source of knowledge and advice within the apprentice engineers. Supportive of the apprentices, he gives his time to help invest in their development and future careers.

Matthew McInally – Matthew is exceptionally helpful and supportive in his role within the Engineering Team at Longstone. A pleasure to work with, he takes pride in his work, ensuring that buses are turned out to a high standard for service. Matthew is also a great support to the apprentice engineer who he works with to help them achieve their potential.

Keith Reid - Keith works very hard for the garage team at Marine, understanding what's required and helping to support his fellow engineers. There's nothing he can't fix! His knowledge is second to none, and he's a patient and supportive colleague to apprentices while showing them the ropes.

8.Customer Experience Champion

Lynne Fleming – Lynne does an amazing job keeping managers informed about any driver licence issues, medical checks, internal transfers, etc. An invaluable member of the HR team, and a huge source of support for our management teams, Lynne regularly goes above and beyond what is expected of her in her role, and always makes time for her colleagues.

Keith Hutchison – Keith is a valued member of the catering team. He takes great care in terms of what our customers need, and has a brilliant attitude towards them (service with a bit of banter, a laugh and all-round excellent customer communication). Opening up early for customers in the morning is a tough shift, and people often don't realise what it takes to work this shift day-in, day-out. Keith always is a great support to his colleagues, helping them out with day to day tasks and helping support new people at the start of their training.

Chris Morgan – As a long-standing member of the Customer Support team, Chris's knowledge of all things Lothian is outstanding. He strives to help customers with any issues in a clear, concise way; always gets to the bottom of any complaint; and makes sure the customer is kept fully informed along the way. His working relationship with other departments is also excellent, as are his interactions in customers face-to-face in Shandwick Place TravelHub.

Alan Robertson – Alan has been a contact source of support for his colleagues in the years he's worked for Lothian. As a traffic supervisor based at Central, Alan is a main point of contact for many drivers and he demonstrates true professionalism in his day-to-day work, always provides great support to his customers.

9.Retail Ambassador

Jackie Forbes – Jackie's role within our lost property department is a challenging one, but her excellent organisational skills and caring composure when dealing with distressed or demanding customers are what set her apart. Her proactive approach and willingness to go the extra mile ensures that every customer feels valued and support. She is a fantastic ambassador for our business.

Fiona Ramsay – A long-serving member of the Retail Team, Fiona's customer service skills and knowledge are second to none. Her friendly manner and smiley face make every customer feel at ease and welcome. Fiona naturally builds a rapport with everyone that she interacts with. Returning visitors to the city seek out Fiona as they know she will be able to help them.

Kirti Seera – Kirti, as Team Leader within our Retail Team, is someone who often goes above and beyond. Kirti was the brainchild behind Lothian's partnership with Shelter who now take unclaimed lost property items to sell within their Edinburgh shops, upcycling for the benefit of others, diverting from landfill and raising money for the charity in the process.

10.Lothian's Hidden Gem

Jay Bennett – Jay has been instrumental in delivering Lothian's new Bus and Tram App. His significant knowledge of the old app meant that the new one launched with numerous important accessibility features baked in. An excellent communicator, he works hard to find a solution to any problem and always liaises well with other departments – which is key to moving forward in the right direction. Jay brings a wealth of knowledge and ability to Lothian's Digital team and is only just getting started in terms of what he’ll bring to Lothian in coming years.

Gwen Lessels – Gwen is always incredibly helpful and consistently goes above and beyond to support her colleagues and the team. Nothing is ever too much trouble for Gwen, and she's always happy to assist wherever she can. Beyond her helpfulness, Gwen is simply a kind and genuine person who makes everyone around them feel valued and appreciated. She is a massive asset to Lothian.

Nicole Walker – As a member of the Payroll Team, Nicole has worked on various special projects in addition to her day-to-day payroll work, tackling tasks head on and excelling in everything she's taken on. She's always approachable and is customer-focused at all times. Nicole is a real asset to the Payroll Team and to Lothian.

Lindsay Wilson – Lindsay's role is crucial to the business, but more than that, his willingness to support others and take on other responsibilities where required is commendable. He always conducts himself in a manner which is a credit to both himself and others, attends incidents out of hours including late at night and at the weekend.

11.Extra Mile

Perri Butler – A trustworthy colleague and credible member of the HR team, Perri is an extremely helpful, happy, and polite individual. Despite often facing challenges within the department with a heavy workload, she continues to show a genuine willingness to support her team where she can. It feels like nothing is ever too much trouble, and she often goes the extra mile to achieve results. A great support to managers and colleagues across, the business, Perri is always available for advice and support, often putting the needs of others before herself.

Richard Cunningham – As part of the Lead Driver Team at Longstone, Richard goes above and beyond for our new drivers at the start of their career with Lothian, and is a point of contact and a source of support for them. He goes above and beyond what is expected of him to ensure that new colleagues are settled in and perform in a safe and reliable manner. His actions have helped to reduce accident levels in new starters and helped with retention and morale.

Thomas Edde – Thomas demonstrates a positivity and willingness to go beyond the reasonably expected call of duty within the Commercial Team. He continues to develop and nurture important stakeholder relationships, giving us a competitive edge ons service provision to special events. On event days he can be seen acting as the Controller (often with a clipboard, coffee and pastry in hand!), regularly convincing others to go above and beyond in his own cheeky style. The success of these event days is down to his attitude, capability and commitment to Lothian.

Chelsea Harvey – Chelsea is an important member of our operations team. She's built great working relationships with drivers and desk supervisors, in addition to all garage managers. Any task or project that is passed her way is always carried out to a very high standard, and she keeps on top of all responsibilities regarding driver uniform. She's always on hand to help our drivers.

Lothian People Awards 2024

Voting open until Friday 25 October!