Look out for Bus-Lightyear, Glorious Glosters, Best Mate and Gus the Bus!

Brian Dance, Bus-Lightyear, Glorious Glosters, Best Mate, and Gus the Bus are just some of the names that have been voted for by Gloucestershire residents, following a public poll which received thousands of votes. The names, which will be given to Stagecoach West’s 14 new state-of-the-art buses, have been selected from a shortlist of 30 names, which was whittled down from hundreds of suggestions made by locals.

Brian Dance has been revealed as the winning name after receiving over 400 votes in the public poll. The name was suggested in commemoration of the much-loved Stagecoach bus driver who passed away last year.

Brian’s son, Lenny Dance, who also works for Stagecoach West as a Quality Inspector, comments: “This experience has been a complete surprise for my family and I. My dad was a driver at Stagecoach West for 48 years and it’s a testament to him just how many people voted for his name to be remembered on a bus that he loved driving for so many years. We can’t wait to see the bus on the road.”

Other local personalities making their way onto a bus in the coming months include Eddie ‘The Eagle’, in celebration of the Cheltenham born Olympic ski-jumper, Nicky Price, after the BBC Radio Gloucestershire presenter, and Riders of Rohan, inspired by a six-year-old local passenger who loves taking the bus.

More names include Best Mate, after the Gold Cup winning racehorse, Glorious Glosters, in reference to the Gloucestershire Army Regiment, and Cotswold Crusader, in homage to the district.

Bus-Lightyear, Gus the Bus, and Bus McBuserton also made their way onto the final list, the latter inspired by the National Environment Research Council’s £200 million research ship which was voted to be named ‘Boaty McBoatface’, in 2016.

The brand-new vehicles, which will begin to display the names from today, serve the Cheltenham and Gloucester community, and feature low emission Euro 6 engines, USB charging points, and a modern interior, for added passenger comfort. Marking its commitment to making public transport accessible to all passengers, the new buses are also the first in the region to feature audio next stop announcements, as well as a visual display.

Rupert Cox, Managing Director at Stagecoach West, comments: “The introduction of the 14 brand-new buses to our Gloucestershire fleet is an important moment for us as a company and demonstrates our commitment to providing customers with the best public transport available, so we wanted to do something special to mark the occasion.

“We have received such a fantastic response to our Name That Bus initiative and want to thank everyone who submitted suggestions and voted. It has been great to see the level of support for our long-time driver Brian Dance and it will certainly give us a laugh spotting Bus-Lightyear driving around town, that’s for sure.”

The full list of winners:

1. Brian Dance
2. Dan Harper
3. Nicky Price
4. Glorious Glosters
5. Bus-Lightyear
6. Dorothea Beale
7. Eddie ‘The Eagle’
8. Riders of Rohan
9. Dave
10. Bus McBuserton
11. Gus the Bus
12. Edward Jenner
13. Best Mate
14. Cotswold Crusader

For further information, please visit the Stagecoach West website