Stagecoach South celebrates driving excellence at Bus Driver of the Year heats in Portsmouth

Stagecoach South has hosted its annual Bus Driver of the Year heats at the Portsmouth depot, bringing together skilled drivers from across the business to compete in tests of driving precision, control and roadcraft.

The competition recognises outstanding professional driving standards, with the top two drivers progressing to the national final in Blackpool on 6 September.

The event was attended by Councillor Peter Candlish, Cabinet Member for Transport, and Councillor Chris Attwell, Cabinet Member for Central Services, who joined drivers, colleagues and families at the depot.

This year’s results were:

1st – Bogdan-Paul Dragomir (Aldershot depot)

Seven years with Stagecoach South, Bogdan improved on last year’s fourth-place finish to take the top spot.

2nd – Chris Erret (Guildford depot)

With 11 years in the industry, Chris secured second place for the second consecutive year.

3rd – Peter White (Portsmouth depot)

Peter, who has nearly eight years with Stagecoach South and extensive coach driving experience, placed third after finishing joint fifth last year.

The Bus Driver of the Year competition dates back to 1967 and remains one of the UK bus industry’s leading driving competitions.

Following the heats, drivers, families, councillors and colleagues had the opportunity to experience a variety of vehicles from the Stagecoach South fleet, including the new Yutong U11DD electric bus and the vintage Southdown 409 DCD open-top bus, the newest and oldest vehicles in the fleet, separated by 62 years.

Bogdan and Chris will now represent Stagecoach South at the national final in Blackpool.