A bus company says being honoured at this year’s Bolton News Business Awards show “our commitment to our people.”

The ceremony, hosted at the Bolton Whites Hotel by comedian and writer Shazia Mirza, saw the Wellbeing Award given to Diamond Buses.

After stepping up to collect the award on behalf of the company, group head of human resources Emma Woods spoke about what this meant for the firm and its employees.

She said: "For me people ultimately people are the heart of our business.

"We've got bus franchising going live on September 24 and for me this really shows our commitment to our people."

The award comes at a momentous time for bus companies all across the Greater Manchester city region with the launch of the Bee Network just this week.

Speaking in Bolton on Sunday September 24, Mayor Andy Burnham said he hoped this would revolutionise services.

He said: He said: “For nearly 40 years we have seen worsening services and plummeting passenger numbers on our buses. 

"We’ve had to reckon with a deregulated bus network that cuts vital services that connect communities to jobs, hospitals and opportunities on a whim - leaving local leaders with limited budgets to pick up the tab to keep these routes alive. 

"Today marks the end of that era with our franchised system representing better value for money for city-regions and a better service for passengers.

“From today passengers will experience our new electric buses as well as earlier and later, more frequent and better integrated services. 

"We’ve already cut the cost of public transport with the capped fares I introduced in 2022, but from today our new AnyBus + tram ticket will also make joint tram and bus travel 20 per cent cheaper.

“We’re also putting power back in the hands of people, with passengers able to rate their journey.

"These ratings, combined with a range of other customer-related performance targets will be used to inform what operators get paid.

“Today is a coming-of-age moment for English devolution.”