Victoria Garcia
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus tops the UK Bus Awards for community work
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus has picked up two accolades for its services to the community at the 2021 UK Bus and Coach Awards, announced earlier this week.
The bus company’s inspirational Above & Beyond campaign, which features 24 local people who have made a positive difference to other peoples’ lives on the side of its buses, was a winner in the Services to the Community category.
The 24 individuals were all chosen by local community groups and the public and included 85-year-old roller skating charity fundraiser Roller Roy; disability campaigner Lizzie Batten; chef Gabriel Gutierrez, who delivered hot meals to struggling families during lockdown; learning mentor Kate Jordan; and Clock Tower Sanctuary volunteers Paul Phipps and Mark Sewell, who give homeless young people things most people take for granted, like a hot shower, a cup of tea and clean clothes.
All of their stories appear on the inside of the route 1 buses, which travel between the city and Whitehawk.
The bus company’s Accessibility and Communities Manager Victoria Garcia MBE also won the award for Impact on the Bus Industry by an Individual for her work campaigning for accessible travel for everybody.
Victoria led on establishing the bus company’s award-winning Helping Hand Card and has also worked extensively with disabled people and community groups on bus design and bus driver training, as well as leading a campaign to address hate crime on public transport. She was awarded an MBE in 2019 for services to disabled transport users.
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus Managing Director Martin Harris said: “We have always been a bus company that sets great store by our close connection to the people and the communities we serve and that’s why these two awards are so special. I am proud of my colleagues for their achievements and of the way they have continued to get out there and engage with people, despite the pandemic.
“I also want to acknowledge the massive range of community groups that we work with behind the scenes every day to make our bus services better for everyone. Our stewardship of our community's bus services is a responsibility we take very seriously and we have always worked hard to be more than 'just a bus company'.”
To find out more about the people and the stories behind Above & Beyond click here.
You can read more about the work of the Accessibility and Communities team click here.