Two senior figures at Reading Buses have been recognised at a national industry ceremony after leading projects that brought electric vehicles into service and strengthened passenger safety measures.
National recognition for local projects
The awards were handed out at the inaugural Leadership in Passenger Transport Awards at London’s O2 arena. Tom Ranson, Engineering Director, won the Infrastructure and Project Management category for overseeing the introduction of electric buses to Reading’s fleet. The programme required new depot charging infrastructure and significant excavation while maintaining day-to-day operations.
Richard Moxom, Operations Manager, received the Customer Service award for his work on passenger-safety initiatives. His DriveWell telematics scheme targets improvements in driver performance and was complemented by a pilot project conducted with Thames Valley Police and the It Does Matter campaign to address unwanted behaviour on buses.
“I am particularly delighted to see Tom and Richard recognised for their fantastic work. They both do a great job, and reflect the great team of people that we have at Reading Buses. Seeing them on stage was far more rewarding than being up there myself!”
What the projects involved
The two award-winning programmes emphasise different but complementary priorities for the operator: decarbonising the fleet and improving customer confidence.
- Electric-bus rollout: installation of depot charging points and integration of new vehicles into existing services with minimal disruption to passengers.
- Passenger-safety measures: telematics-led driver coaching, passenger reporting tools including QR codes, on-bus information displays and police patrols as part of a pilot to encourage reporting.
Local impact and wider context
The awards underline Reading Buses’ role in implementing practical changes that affect daily commuters across the town. Infrastructure works required to support electric buses — though disruptive during installation — are a necessary step towards lowering transport emissions locally. Meanwhile, the safety-focused measures aim to reassure customers and increase incident reporting, an important factor for public confidence in using buses.
Reading Buses also saw senior staff shortlisted or placed highly in other categories: Chief Executive Robert Williams was runner-up for Passenger Transport Leader of the Year, and Commercial Manager Gemma Redson was shortlisted for Innovation and New Thinking.
| Award | Recipient | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure and Project Management | Tom Ranson | Electric-bus introduction and depot charging |
| Customer Service | Richard Moxom | Passenger safety, DriveWell telematics, reporting pilot |
The recognition places local work in a national context and highlights two practical strands of bus operations: the technical challenge of fleet decarbonisation and the everyday concerns of passenger safety and service quality.
For passengers, the immediate effects are already visible: new electric buses in service across Reading and measures intended to make journeys safer and easier to report when incidents occur. For local authorities and campaigners, the projects offer examples of how operators can combine infrastructure investment with community-facing safety initiatives.
