Ian Field to defend BDOY title

Last year’s winner of the Bus Driver of the Year, Ian Field, is set to defend his title this weekend.

Finalists have been announced for the UK Bus Driver of the Year competition (BDOY). Among them is Stagecoach East Scotland driver and reigning champion, Ian Field.

A total of 84 competitors will take part in the National Final, which will take place in Blackpool on Sunday 1 September. The challengers come from major bus groups, municipal operators and smaller companies. Two entrants from Go-Ahead Ireland will be joining the contest for the first time.

Joe Mackie, Chairman of the UK Bus Driver of the Year Association, which organises the competition, said that the 2016 National Final had marked fifty years of BDoY which was first run in 1967 as a local contest in Coventry and subsequently grew into a national event. After celebrating the competition’s half-century the BDoY team was looking forward to welcoming new competitors and previous finalists to Blackpool again this year.

Joe said: “We are very pleased that the competition still commands widespread support from its sponsors and entrant operating companies, with the National Final a fantastic place for drivers’ skills and commitment to excellent customer service to be displayed.”