National Express Cleans Up at Industry Awards

May 14, 2018
After four years of being runner up, the UK’s largest coach operator has been crowned Large Operator of the Year at the 2018 UK Coach Awards.

National Express has proven itself king of the road after coming away from two industry awards ceremonies with armfuls of silverware.

After four years of being runner up, the UK’s largest coach operator has been crowned Large Operator of the Year at the 2018 UK Coach Awards, beating tough competition from The Kings Ferry, Edwards Coaches and Lucketts Travel.

National Express then went on to win the biggest prize of all — overall Operator of the Year — by topping the winners of the Small and Medium Operator of the Year categories.

At the ceremony held in Blackpool, National Express also won the Making Coaches a Better Choice award for its excellent next generation coach the Caetano Levante III, meanwhile the customer response team were runners up in the Customer Service award and the lost property team Ann Colley and Merlyn Bryan narrowly missed out on the Unsung Heroes award.

The evening also saw a touching tribute made to National Express’s former Head of Planning Steve Way who sadly passed away earlier this year.

And while National Express was cleaning up at the UK Coach Awards, the marketing team were also winning prizes at the Roses Creative marketing industry awards too.

The team won Gold for the Best Radio award for its Look Beyond London campaign and Silver in the Travel and Transport Category. Meanwhile it also received nominations in the Outdoor Category and Best Integrated Campaign.

National Express UK Coach Managing Director Chris Hardy said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have come away from two awards events with so many great successes. To have won Large Operator and Operator of the Year is absolutely fantastic and a testament to all the very hard work put in by the team last year and their amazing achievements.

“It’s also brilliant to have scooped the Making Coaches a Better Choice award for Levante III our most advanced ever coach, and Gold for our excellent Look Beyond London marketing campaign. These wins are proof of the dedication, ambition and skill of our staff who are driving the company forwards.”