Bus Éireann has held its inaugural GEM (‘Go the Extra Mile’) Awards for its staff, in acknowledgement of the hard work, service and dedication of its employees across the country.
Awards were issued in a number of different categories including Apprentice of the Year, Craftworker of the Year, Hero of the Year, Driver of the Year, Employee of the Year, Engineering Operative of the Year, Health and Safety, Innovation and Efficiency and Part-time School Bus Driver of the Year.
A mechanic in Waterford was awarded ‘Employee of the Year’ at the inaugural event in Croke Park.
Joe Waldron manages all aspects of maintenance in the Waterford Garage and works with staff across all grades, including maintenance, drivers, supervisors and management.
He was especially praised for his hard work, dedication and pro-active approach to ensuring maintenance is carried out efficiently and effectively throughout his almost 40 years’ service with the company.
Bus Éireann’s employees were also celebrated at the inaugural awards.
Two ‘Hero of the Year’ awards were presented to Bus Éireann drivers who each took lifesaving action for their passengers.
Paddy Quinn, a driver in Sligo, was one of the recipients of this award. On September 11th, 2018, during a routine pit stop at Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, Paddy discovered that a passenger had not re-boarded the bus and had accidentally slipped into the River Shannon beside the bus stop.
He immediately sprung to action, rushed down to the riverbank and pulled the man back to safety while up to his waist in water. After this courageous act, Paddy got back in the driver seat and completed his bus journey.
Jim Murphy was the second recipient of the ‘Hero of the Year’ award for his life-saving action when a passenger was discovered unresponsive on-board while operating from Limerick to Tralee.
Jim turned from driver to hero and succeeded in resuscitating the passenger who was responsive by the time the emergency service arrived on the scene.
Adrian Larkin accepted the ‘Special Recognition – Heroes Award’ on behalf of the first Bus Éireann Movember Team who raised €26,844 in 2018 for the Movember Campaign.
Congratulating the winners, Stephen Kent, CEO of Bus Éireann said: “As a business that delivered over 42 million passengers last year and with a headcount of over 2,700, we recognise that our employees are our best ambassadors, and I am incredibly proud of our front line service team.
Bus Éireann operates in every corner of the country fulfilling so many in roles as diverse as engineering, administration, network development, sales & marketing in addition to providing bus drivers and services for School Transport.
The GEM awards provide the perfect opportunity to celebrate the continued commitment and outstanding performance of our team members who consistently ‘go the extra mile’ for our customers and for their colleagues. This is our first year in celebrating success in this way and I’m delighted to be able to acknowledge the great work that our staff does every day.”
All award winners (South East winners in bold):
- Craftworker of the Year Award, Liam Ryan, Thurles Garage
- Employee of the Year, Joe Waldron, Waterford Depot
- Health & Safety of the Year, Lorenzo Daly, Busáras
- Apprentice of the Year Award, Liam Turnbull, Cork Depot,
- Part-time School Bus Driver of the year, Sean White, Cork
- Special Recognition Award, Adrian Larkin, Dundalk Depot
- Hero of the Year, Jim Murphy, Limerick Depot
- Hero of the Year, Paddy Quinn, Sligo Depot
- Innovation and Efficiency of the Year, Pat Doyle, Broadstone
- Driver of the Year, Rhonda Byrne, Kells Depot
- Engineering Operative of the Year, Paddy Dyes, Drogheda Depot
