One of our drivers, who started his career as a BBC journalist, has scooped the prestigious trentbarton Driver of the Year 2014 award after swapping the newsroom for life behind the wheel of a bus.

For more than a decade John Shaw from Ilkeston has worked for trentbarton and has now been named our Driver of the Year after a range of detailed mystery customer tests.

A familiar face on our buses between Nottingham, Beeston and Stapleford, the 35 year old was presented with a trophy and £1000 by TV and radio celebrity Paul Ross at our really good service awards 2014 at the iPro stadium in Derby’s Pride Park.

He was among a number of trentbarton staff to be recognised for their efforts over the past 12 months as part of our annual awards evening, attended by nearly 100 people, including staff, their guests and representatives of our charity of the year, Help For Heroes. As well as receiving a trophy, John also picked up holiday vouchers worth £1,000 and gets an extra days’ holiday for the rest of his career with us. He intends to put the cash towards his honeymoon following his wedding to fiancée Hazel.

“Winning the award is a dream come true,” he said. “When I first joined trentbarton I wanted to become an ambassador for the company, and as an award winner I’m thrilled to have achieved this ambition. I had my first taste of buses as a six year old – and as a young customer it was my dream to drive a bus for real.

“I’m really proud to have won this award, but I’d like to dedicate the award to all my colleagues on route 18 who help deliver a fantastic service as well as all those who help keep the wheels turning behind the scenes.”

Runners-up in the Driver of the Year category at the awards were Jayne Phillips, a driver on the H1 between Derby and Heanor, and Abdul Jabar who works on indigo serving communities between Nottingham, Long Eaton and Derby.

Other award winners on the night included Kel Pizzuti (Hero of the Year), Andy Salmon (Customers’ Choice), Andy Haymes (Colleagues’ Choice) and Scott Hutchinson (Apprentice of the Year).

Our skylink route was named Brand of the Year. Jeff Counsell, our Managing Director, commented: “All the winners demonstrated our commitment to going the extra mile for our customers.

“The awards have been running for over a decade, and every year picking an overall winner gets harder, but John has consistently scored top marks from mystery customers over the past 12 months.

“Congratulations go to all the winners and runners-up, they really are a credit to both the company and the transport industry,” he added.