First Bus hosts second edition of 'Our Way' awards to celebrate exceptional colleagues

Bus operator First Bus recently hosted its second annual 'Our Way' awards to recognise and celebrate exceptional colleagues across the business. 

The event took place at The Queens Hotel in Leeds on Wednesday 7th May, where TV presenter Josie Gibson presented the awards. The winners were selected through a two-round judging process chaired by First Bus, Managing Director, Janette Bell. 

First Bus OWAs 2025 #2

The event recognised colleagues who embody the company's core 'Our Way' values - Always Care, Do What's Right, Shape the Future and Succeed Together. The awards also celebrated achievements in operational and engineering excellence, recognising the most improved depots across different size categories. 

A special Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Linda McNeish from Scotland for her exceptional contribution to the business. Laura Mclean from the Commercial team received the Learning Excellence award for transforming learning across the network and scheduling teams,developing comprehensive training programmes, user groups and key resources. Her leadership has improved system usability and user groups she’s in led to a full UI redesign of Prospective. 

Additionally, nine colleagues received Special Recognition awards for their extraordinary actions going above and beyond the call of duty by saving lives and supporting vulnerable people. 

First Bus Managing Director, Janette Bell, commented: "Following the success of our inaugural awards last year, it’s exciting to come together again and celebrate the incredible individuals who bring our values to life every day.  

“We are a business operating at the centre of our communities we serve and celebrating our own people is a vital part of that. These awards reflect our culture where contributions are not just noticed but genuinely valued.  

“A huge congratulations to all our winners and shortlisted nominees for their hard work and commitment.” 

First Bus OWAs 2025 #4

The 2025 'Our Way' award winners were: 

Always Care: Keith Wakefield, East of England 

Do What's Right: The Yeovil Relocation Team, South 

Shape the Future: Matt Lycett, MMSY 

Succeed Together: SPS/First East Sizewell Team, SPS/First East 

Learning Excellence: Laura Mclean, Commercial 

Lifetime Achievement: Linda McNeish, Scotland 

Special Recognition Awards 

  • Adam Green, MMSY 
  • David Rowe, MMSY 
  • Michael Anderson, MMSY 
  • Sarah Gundry, MMSY 
  • Shelia Nantumbwe, Wales and West 
  • Jeff Easley, North & West Yorkshire 
  • John Fry, Scotland 
  • Roderick Brainard, South 
  • Jarek Kaczorowski, South 

Operational Excellence 

Most Improved Depot (Small): Weymouth, South 

Most Improved Depot (Medium): Leicester, MMSY 

Most Improved Depot (Large): Norwich & Scotstoun, East & Scotland 

Engineering Excellence 

Most Improved Depot (Small): Bridgend, Wales and West 

Most Improved Depot (Medium): Leicester, MMSY 

Most Improved Depot (Large): Halifax, North & West Yorkshire 

-ENDS-