Our trentbarton drivers have been judged by customers as the best in the country, coming top out of 55 bus operators in the England-wide survey by the independent watchdog Transport Focus of more than 35,000 bus journeys.

In the Your Bus Journey survey and report, our drivers were the national number one for satisfaction, with 93 per cent of customers surveyed saying they were satisfied or very satisfied with their bus driver.

We have been ranked sixth out of 55 operators in the league table for overall journey satisfaction, with 87 per cent of customers surveyed saying they were satisfied or very satisfied, just four percentage points off the top spot. And we were also in the top ten for satisfaction with value for money.

Tom Morgan, trentbarton’s managing director, said: “An outstanding driver is what makes an everyday bus journey a great experience, so for our drivers to be the best in the country is a fantastic achievement.”

trentbarton heartlands of Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire also performed well in the survey. Nottingham was named top city in the UK for bus passenger satisfaction and Nottinghamshire was crowned the top county.

Out of the 34 Local Bus Partnership areas surveyed by Transport Focus, Nottingham scored an approval rating of 87 per cent and Nottinghamshire achieved 85 per cent. Derbyshire came fourth for value for money and was in the top ten for overall journey satisfaction and waiting times.

Local Bus Partnership areas are a Government initiative to ensure operators and local councils work together to improve services. The Transport Focus survey provides a new benchmark to measure future performance against.

Tom said: “Also playing a vital role in this ongoing success is the common vision and teamwork between trentbarton, other operators and the local authorities in the communities we serve.

“Working together, we can prioritise buses on our roads to improve punctuality and reliability to attract even more customers to travel by bus which will bring benefits to all through reduced congestion and improved air quality.”