Green Transport Awards: Transport’s green leaders

Our first Green Transport Awards show the work that is being done within the public transport sector to make travel greener

Public transport may be less harmful to the environment than other forms of transport, but it cannot afford to rest on its green laurels. There is much to be done to make bus and rail as green as possible, and encourage more people to use them. The Green Transport Awards have been established by New Transit to shine a light on the good work that is being done in the sector. The awards recognise the efforts of those the are getting it leading the way, and offers ideas and inspiration for others.

There are six categories in the Green Transport Awards, recognising efforts to make fleets and facilities greener, plus the best innovations and marketing. There are also prizes for the best individual ‘Green Champion’, and the best ‘Green Operator’. The following pages reveal the companies, projects and individuals that the judges thought most worthy of recognition.

The judges themselves have a wide range of experience, from senior level business and political roles, to project management and environmental expertise (see panel). They were impressed by the projects that were put before them. There were entrants from across the country, from Aberdeen in the north to the Isle-of-Wight in the south. They covered both bus and rail, and tied up with other environmentally friendly areas such as cycling and recycling. Some entrants boasted hugely technical achievements involve different partners, others were relatively simple but no less ground-breaking.

“It’s inspiring to see so much innovation and leadership in the public transport sector,” comments David Powell, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth and one of the judges. “So many of these green measures have not only helped cut carbon but also proved themselves great value for money. Well done everyone – keep it up!” 

FirstGroup may have won the Green Operator prize, but there were strong performances by both Stagecoach and Go Ahead Group. Stagecoach won the Green Fleet Award for its operation of Bio-buses in West Scotland. Meanwhile, Ted Ingle, an employee of the group’s East Midlands Trains subsidiary, was chosen by the judges as their Green Champion.

Go Ahead Group or one of its subsidiary companies finished either winner or runner up in every category. The group won the Green Facilities Award for its investment in intelligent lighting at depots, and two other prizes were won by its Go North East and Southern Vectis bus operations. Southern Vectis won the Green Innovation Award for its ‘Really Green Car Scrappage Scheme’. Meanwhile, Go North East won the Green Marketing Award for its Red Kite bus brand.

“I would like to send my congratulations to all the winners of New Transit’s Green Transport Awards,” comments Go Ahead chief executive Keith Ludeman.?“Climate Change is the most pressing issue facing our generation.

“I have been extremely impressed by the way that Go Ahead’s management teams and people have embraced and taken personal responsibility for addressing carbon reduction in their companies. The exceptional number of winners, runner up and commended companies in the Green Transport Awards from across the Go Ahead Group are testament to their commitment, enthusiasm and innovation.”

And there are signs that some of the good work carried out within the UK public transport sector is winning top level recognition. Optare, the Leeds-based bus manufacturer, was highly commended in the Green Fleet category of the Green Transport Awards for its Solo EV electric bus. Newly appointed EU president Herman van Rompuy is also said to be a fan. As Belgian prime minister he recently sampled the zero emissions and near-silent performance of the Solo EV battery-powered bus, and commented favourably on the experience.

“There is clearly a wind of change blowing in senior political circles across Europe in favour of the introduction of this and other more environmentally-friendly technologies in buses,” says Optare Chief Executive Jim Sumner. “I hope that with Mr Rompuy now in the most senior political post in Europe we shall see technologies such as that behind the Solo EV continue to rise up the agenda.”

The entire public transport sector can benefit from this wind of change if it can display the innovation and leadership shown by the winners of the Green Transport Awards.

The Judges

• Malcolm Buchanan, Colin Buchanan
• Richard Hebditch, Campaigns Director,
• Campaign for Better Transport
• Robert Jack, Managing Editor, New Transit
• Matthew Ledbury, Senior Policy Adviser, Environment, Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER)
• George Muir, Former Director General of the Association of Train Operating Companies
• David Powell, Transport Campaigner, Friends of the Earth
• Kulveer Ranger, Director for Transport Policy, Mayor of London’s Office.