‘Make a Bus Driver Smile’

In partnership with Connect Tees Valley and Local Motion, Stagecoach North East and Arriva North East have held a joint initiative to promote bus travel. As part of the ‘Make a Bus Driver Smile’ campaign, the operators photographed drivers for a series of posters used across the region in a competition to find the ‘face’ of the initiative. Brian Arnold, a bus driver from Stagecoach North East’s Teesside depot in Stockton-on-Tees, won the competition and appeared on buses and outdoor advertising to encourage commuters to ‘catch the bus or break a driver’s heart’. The campaign launched with two family friendly events in Darlington and Middlesbrough town centres.