It’s official - Arriva's Derby depot is the best in the country.

The team who run the garage were crowned Top National Depot at the UK Bus Awards yesterday (Nov 26), scooping the industry-respected Gold award.

Arriva’s Derby bus depot was once a loss-making business with budgets overspent, low customer satisfaction and a staff turnover that was horrific.

But the depot that turned its fortunes around and is now in the top flight.

The depot is leading the way for Arriva and for other bus operators as an example of how a depot can go from zero to hero.

A combined team of 240 dedicated public transport champions ensure the bus passengers of Derby are well-served on the 2.6 million miles of passenger journeys made in and around the city each year.

The UK Bus Awards judges commented on how the depot are smashing every business target, punctuality is high, staff levels are stable and customers rarely complain.

In order to win Gold at the UK Bus Awards, bus operators submit their submissions and judges travel on the services as ‘mystery shoppers’ so that they experience the service.

Derby’s sites manager Raj Chander had a tough challenge in turning round the fortunes of the once-failing depot but the hard graft shown by him and the rest of the team has now paid off.

Raj collected a large glass trophy to bring home from the UK Bus Awards ceremony in London.

He said: “I am thrilled the hard work and dedication shown day in, day out by the whole team at Derby has paid off.

“It’s amazing to have won this award, especially considering we were at real risk just a few years ago.

“It sounds like a cliché, but it’s true: we feel like winners, we are winners and our customers will also feel that.

“I am so proud of everyone who’s worked super-hard and I’m already thinking about the great things we’re doing now and how we might win even more awards next year. Bring it on!”

Raj took a pragmatic approach to the depot’s previous problems and has been key in its phoenix-from-the-ashes turnaround. One of his main objectives in driving growth has been to put people first.

Raj put employee engagement top of the list and makes sure every member of the team knows why they do what they do and where they fit in making bus transport the top choice for people.

There’s team and individual training, nurturing existing talent, praising employee achievements, ensuring great communication, sharing excellent practice, collaborating with other depots and the community, as well as fostering a family atmosphere.

A welfare committee organises days out for employees from anything from a trip to Skegness to an afternoon of axe-throwing to boost employee engagement.