A BUS driver is celebrating 20 years behind the wheel taking passengers across south Devon.

Katie Young, from Torquay, was handed a special award to mark her long service by bus company Stagecoach.

She was one of more than 50 staff whose service was recognised after accumulating an impressive 1,178 years of working for Stagecoach between them.

Katie Young, who was born in Torquay, has been a driver for Stagecoach since 2003 and was recognised for her hard work at a celebration dinner and awards ceremony at Sandy Park, Exeter. 

Katie recently trained as a driving instructor so that she can pass on her years of experience to others.

She said: ‘As a driver I get to meet all sorts of characters and help the public and over the years have made some great friends through driving.

‘My favourite route is the number 22 bus which starts at Dawlish Warren and goes through to Dawlish onto Teignmouth through to Torquay and Paignton and back as you get lots of happy people enjoying their day out in the summer, it’s a picturesque part of the world.

‘I was 22 when I started driving, before that was working in hotels but I needed a career.

‘There were barely any female bus drivers, it was a male orientated environment, but I have great patience and understanding for the customers and I would recommend it to any woman, there’s great options for career progression.’ 

Katie is now in the role of driving instructor.

She said: ‘I finally got the confidence to do my instructor training, I love it and am fully qualified, I’m out on my own with my trainees and already had people pass which is really good job satisfaction. It’s a great feeling to see people progress.’

Stagecoach employees from across the South West including Exeter, Plymouth, Barnstaple and Torquay have been recognised for their loyal service and commitment to passenger transport at a special ceremony.

Stagecoach South West Managing Director Peter Knight said: ‘It was fantastic to come together on the evening to honour our long serving employees who have remained dedicated to connecting people and communities. 

‘Over the past 12 months we’ve operated over 14 million miles and carried over 24 million customers - it’s not lost on me the size and scale of what we do everyday in rain, shine, snow and everything else in between and it is important for our teams to know that everything they do for the business and the communities we serve doesn’t go unnoticed.’