11/18/2010 - Inverness Airport Bus Service is Bust Bus Service in Scotland
The JET is voted Scotland’s Best Bus Service for 2010
HITRANS and Stagecoach scooped the award for Best Bus Service at the Scottish Transport Awards ceremony held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow on 18th November. The honour was awarded for the JET bus route which has served Inverness Airport very well since 2007. The JET service links Inverness Airport to Inverness City Centre, Ardersier, Nairn, Forres and Elgin.
The award is recognition for three years of impressive passenger growth that has been achieved since the route was kick started through the introduction of high quality buses with leather seats, real time information and an effective timetable. Changes to the route in May 2009 extended the route to link Elgin with Inverness Airport with services operating up to every 30 minutes on pats of the route due to passenger demand. Improvements to bus stop infrastructure, information and targeted marketing have also helped deliver real results. All this investment was made possible by HITRANS securing funding from the Scottish Government’s bus route development scheme. The service has been developed in a real spirit of partnership between HITRANS and Stagecoach and
since its launch the JET has seen passenger numbers grow by approximately 130%. Judges were impressed by the JET network and described it as an effective mix of improvements which have generated really impressive increases in passenger figures delivering real modal shift.
The award was presented to HITRANS Chair Cllr Duncan MacIntyre by television and radio broadcaster Grant Stott who hosted the evening. Commenting on the award Councillor MacIntyre said,
“The JET service is a project that HITRANS are really proud of and we are delighted that this has been recognised at this prestigious event. The impressive passenger growth shows what can be achieved with the right investment and a real partnership approach with the service provider. ”
Stagecoach also expressed delight that their service is officially Scotland’s best bus service for 2010
and Steve Walker, Managing Director, Stagecoach in the Highlands said,
“The Jet route has gone from strength to strength since its launch and we’re glad to have been able
to respond to customer demand to further develop the service in recent years. This award recognises that partnership working can be truly effective in moving public transport forward and the growth of the service is a testament to the successful operation, planning and infrastructure involved in the project.“
The Scottish Transport Awards organised by Transport Times Events, are supported by Scottish Government and Transport Scotland. The awards were judged by Transport Times publisher and former government adviser Prof David Begg (Chair of the Judging Panel); Prof George Hazel OBE, Managing Director of MRC McLean Hazel Ltd; Prof Iain Docherty, Professor of Public Policy and Governance, Business School, University of Glasgow and David Middleton, Chief Executive, Transport Scotland.
ENDS