Bradford bus ‘Champions’

First in Bradford’s latest new Wrightbus SteetLites each have the name of a ‘Champion’ of Bradford emblazoned on them. The new vehicles run on the 620 Haworth Road – Bierley Circular route. Representing a £2m investment, the new vehicles feature leather seats, CCTV and Wi-Fi.

The 500 staff at the operator were asked to nominate their champions in a recent competition run at the local bus company. The ‘Champions’ include Professor David Sharpe who, together with his team, helped save and rebuild many lives following the Bradford City fire tragedy in 1985. Bradford Royal Infirmary and local & national charities also feature as well as a local school in Heaton. Speedway Legends and winners of the World Individual Championship at Odsal, Erik Gundersen and Per Jonsson are also included, as are bus drivers who raised significant funds for charities. Finally, 1926 has also been recognised as the year that the first motor buses started regular operations in the city including the precursor of the current 620 route.
Business Manager of First in Bradford, Emma Taylor, said, ‘Our investment of over £2m in low emission, luxury buses is great news for our customers and underlines our continuing determination to provide ever better bus services in our area and encourage more people to travel by bus. We’re also delighted to name our buses after people and organisations that have had such a big impact on our local community. I’m sure if this is popular we can look to extend this to other buses to take account of even more organisations and people who are Champions in Bradford.’