Every year we hold our annual awards, where we celebrate all the amazing things our team do.

But we're not just there to have a good time. It is important for us to celebrate and reward those members of our team that have excelled in their job and have gone that extra mile. 

Our success is not just a result of our hard working drivers, it's also driven by talented young apprentices, dedicated engineers, committed admin staff and IT whizz kids who all play their part in steering us in the right direction.

This year's winners include:

Driver of the year - Freddie Dempsey 

Freddie Dempsey, who drives the sixes between Derby, Belper, Ripley and Bakewell, was judged the best of the best, winning Driver of the Year at the awards ceremony at Nottingham Trent University. 

Freddie, beat all the other winners of trentbarton’s driver of the month competitions from 2022-23 to bag a big shiny cup, an extra day off work every year and £1,000 to spend on a holiday.

Freddie, who has been driving for five years, said: “It’s great to win for doing something I enjoy. I’m a people person who likes driving a big bus and meeting customers and making them happy.”

Before driving buses, Freddie tried being a factory worker, a care assistant and a lab technician. He said: “I thought I’d try bus driving and found that it was amazing. I really took to it. And trentbarton is a really good company to work for.”

The mystery customer judge said Freddie achieved a perfect score and delivered a first-class level of service, spending time talking to the passengers and waving at his regulars along the route.

Hero of the Year - Tracy and Peter Hayes

Hero of the Year was, unusually, won by a couple, husband and wife drivers Tracy and Peter Hayes, who showed great teamwork to get an elderly regular home. Peter spotted the lady waiting at a Sutton stop waiting for a bus which he knew wouldn’t be arriving.

the nines driver Peter called the threes driver Tracy, who was in her pyjamas at home. Tracy hopped in their car to collect the customer and take her safely home. The couple met at work where Peter has been driving for 36 years and Tracy for 14 years.

Tracy said: “Winning this award is brilliant.” And Peter said: “We’ve both put a lot into this job so it is good to be recognised for what we do.”

Colleague Choice - Andy Worthington 

Colleague Choice was won by Andy Worthington, a driver based at Langley Mill who drives on the Ilkeston routes. The award was sponsored by Personal Group.

The judges said: “Andy is quite the character around the depot and is constantly entertaining his colleagues with his classic tunes and dance moves. There’s always a positive vibe with Andy around so it’s no surprise his peers have rewarded him.”

Voted as winner by the trentbarton team, Andy said: “It’s lovely to win this award. I really appreciate it.”

Customer Choice - Joanne Rich

Dozens of passengers voted for the Customer Choice winner Joanne Rich who drives on skylink Nottingham.

Joanne, received glowing praise from customers, with the judges saying: “Almost every nomination said Joanne made their day whenever she was behind the wheel of their bus and praised her driving manner and smiley face.”

A former nursery nurse who started driving buses 10 years ago, Joanne said: “This is the award I have wanted to win for years. I’ll really enjoy telling my customers that their support meant I have won.”

Unsung Hero - Richard Sherratt

Unsung Hero was won by Richard Sherratt, who has been trentbarton’s scheduler for 32 years until retiring at the end of March

Engineer of the Year - Paul  Harrison 

The judges said: “Paul is a great all-round engineer who turns up every day to his shift early and is always eager to work as hard as he can. He consistently goes above and beyond for his colleagues and he taken many of our apprentices under his wing to expand their knowledge and training.”

Apprentice of the Year - Ben Selby

Ben joined trentbarton as an apprentice in 2019 and: “It’s brilliant to win this award. I’m really pleased.”

Brand of the Year - my15

Operations manager Aaron Irwin said: “The my15 team is really hardworking and dedicated. All the brands would be worthy winners but my15 always go the extra mile for each other, for the service and for its customers.”