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Go-Ahead’s bus company Brighton & Hove was awarded the highly prestigious UK Bus Operator of the Year at the 2009 UK Bus Awards. This award is selected from the winners of the Independent Bus Operator, Shire Bus Operator and City Bus Operator of the Year categories and is recognised as the ‘Grand Prix’ of the UK bus awards.

Commending Brighton & Hove’s achievement the judges noted:  ‘The company has an enviable reputation in the local community it serves. It is perhaps the best example today of how partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders can grow patronage and encourage modal shift consistently over many years.’

Brighton & Hove also won City Operator of the year and, Bluestar, part of Go South Coast, won the category for ‘Bus Marketing Campaign of the Year’ in recognition of their successful re-launch of   the Bluestar 1 service. Bluestar was also recently awarded ‘Medium Sized Bus Operator’ at the Route One awards.

Keith Ludeman, Group Chief Executive said: ‘I am absolutely delighted with these awards and I congratulate Brighton & Hove and Bluestar for their achievements. Go-Ahead’s strategy is to provide high quality and locally focused transport services. The strength of our Group lies with the local management teams who are fully committed to their local communities and I am very pleased that their hard work has been recognised nationally.’

ENDS

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Notes to editors:

Go-Ahead

Go-Ahead is one of the UK's leading providers of passenger transport services operating in the bus, rail and aviation services sectors. Employing around 27,000 people across the country, around 960 million passenger journeys are undertaken on our services each year.

Bus

Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of over 3,500 buses, we carry, on average, around 1.6 million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 21% market share, where we provide regulated services for TfL. We operate deregulated services in the north east, Oxford, the south east and southern England.

Brighton & Hove:

As the city's major public transport provider, Brighton & Hove provides a service that has one of the highest levels of passenger satisfaction in the country. The company also plays a full part in the social and economic life of the city. Its partnership with Brighton and Hove's City Council and those of neighbouring areas are held up nationally as an example of best practice. These latest awards add to a growing list of accolades the Company has won dating back to 1985. Earlier in the year, Roger French, Managing Director for Brighton & Hove, received the Community and Stakeholder Management Award at the 2009 Passenger Transport Management Awards

Link to full citation for Bus Operator of the Year Award by the UK Bus Awards ‘ judges

Bluestar:

Bluestar is the main inter-urban bus operator in southern Hampshire. In 2008 Bluestar began operating the popular and successful Uni-Link service - the University of Southampton's bus service. The 'Bluestar 1' route between Southampton and Winchester has seen an investment of £1.5 million in new branded buses. Working in partnership is an important feature of how Bluestar operates. It has established strong relationships with local authorities, businesses, educational organisations and other stakeholders.