One of our brand new rainbow one buses has been named after a 16-year-old transport enthusiast who’s a fan of all things trentbarton.

Daniel Mullins has decorated his bedroom with memorabilia relating to trentbarton, and when we launched our rainbow reward competition to find a name for one of the latest additions to our fleet, mum Mandy was quick to enter.

Alex Hornby, our Marketing and Communications Director, explained: “Ahead of the introduction of 16 new Optare buses on rainbow one and rapid one, we wanted customers to come up with a name for the first one to enter service.

“After hearing about Daniel, being a big bus fan and living at the heart of the route at Eastwood, we all felt he was a worthy winner of the competition. It was so heartening to see how excited he was to see ‘his’ bus, knowing that it will bear his name for its whole life as part of the trentbarton fleet.”

In addition to having a bus named after him, Daniel, who suffers from autism, was invited to a special naming ceremony at our Langley Mill depot where Mandy was given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive one of the new buses.

Daniel was also presented with a MANGO card entitling him to £100 worth of free travel on the trentbarton network. Mum Mandy said “Our Daniel was thrilled to see the new buses and spend time at the depot. To have a bus named after him is a dream come true for him and the family. And I enjoyed the driving experience so much, I didn’t want to get out of the cab!”

Daniel and Mandy are both regular users of the rainbow one service, which will benefit from an investment of more than £2 million.

View the YouTube video of Mandy’s bus driving experience here