‘Winning was a big surprise, it has not really sunk in just yet’
A MAN who plays a key role in planning how Kinchbus services are run has won a national award for his work.
Richard Sherratt was announced as the first winner of the Joe Wood Scheduler of the Year Award in an online ceremony on November 19.
Mr Sherratt has been a scheduler for the past 29 years at Kinchbus in Loughborough, and for its sister operator Trentbarton.
Mr Sherratt was one of five finalists for the award which was inspired by the career of Joe Wood, a bus scheduler who died in 2019.
As well as helping plan future services, Mr Sherratt is responsible for scheduling the rotas of drivers and the deployment of buses.
The 59 year old said: “Winning was a big surprise. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.
“It’s nice to be recognised as the industry does not always appreciate the work that goes into getting the services ready and the bus to the bus stop.
He joined the industry 41 years ago straight after he finished school.
Richard said: “I’ve seen a fair few changes over the years. This year, with the coronavirus pandemic, has been very different.
“We had to cope with changes seemingly every week early in the first lockdown.
“But it’s just one of those challenges; the work has to be done.
“The art of being a good scheduler is to go unnoticed. Like any job the trick is making the hard things look easy.
Jeff Counsell, Kinchbus managing director, said: “Scheduling is fundamental to what we do as a bus company.
“Richard makes it possible for our network to do what it does every day.
“It’s great to see all the finalists celebrated and the challenging role of scheduler get this national recognition. And in a clearly talented field, I’m delighted that Richard deservedly won this award. “We’re very pleased to have him on our team.
Joe Wood’s employer CitySwift set up the award in his memory with the industry trade magazine Passenger Transport.
Robert Jack, managing editor of Passenger Transport, said: “Has there ever been a year when the work of these schedulers has been more important?
“These unsung heroes of the bus business have moved mountains over the past seven months to redesign timetables and reallocate resources. “They have worked to ensure this is sufficient capacity and safe capacity available for those who depend on public transport, including many key workers.
Andrew Garnett, deputy editor of Passenger Transport, said: “The standard of the entries to this inaugural award was incredibly high and that made choosing a winner incredibly difficult.
The art of being a good scheduler is to go unnoticed. Like any job the trick is making the hard things look easy.