A NEW man is behind the wheel of a drive to keep Keighley’s buses on the road.

Ian Chadwick has been appointed fleet engineer by Keighley Bus Company’s parent operator, Transdev Blazefield.

He now heads-up a team of engineering support staff at depots across the region.

Mr Chadwick’s career in the bus industry began in 1981, as an apprentice fitter with Merseyside Transport at St Helens.

He became a shift chargehand before entering management and taking-up a post as engineering manager at the Rock Ferry depot, Birkenhead.

For the past 13 years, he has been in charge of engineering at bus sites in Greater Manchester.

Mr Chadwick says he is delighted with his new post and aims to “build on best practice”.

“I have always been passionate about buses and how as engineers we continually improve to raise quality for the internal customer – the bus driver,” he added.

“He or she can then feel proud to be associated with the organisation and most importantly, can deliver a first-class product to our customers.

“Joining a company like Transdev gives me the opportunity to work with a first-rate board and to use my skills and experience to support the wider engineering teams at our depots.

“Engineers are by our nature process driven, but we also like the challenge of finding solutions. I want to help our teams rise to the tough challenges involved in running and maintaining a high-quality bus fleet.”

The appointment is welcomed by Transdev Blazefield’s chief executive officer, Alex Hornby.

“Ian clearly shares our enduring passion for delivering amazing customer service,” he said.

“His considerable experience in raising performance in some of the region’s biggest bus fleets will be invaluable to us at Transdev, as we continue to grow our business while offering constantly rising standards of quality to our customers.

“Ian is already working closely with the engineering teams at our seven depots in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and I’m looking forward to him making a positive and sustained difference where it really counts – in the reliability of all our bus services right across the north.”

Outside of work, Mr Chadwick’s main passion is classic cars – he’s currently restoring a 1983 Ford Capri and a 1995 Volvo T5R.

He also enjoys reading and is a keen follower of rugby league.

His appointment follows hot in the tyre tracks of Transdev picking-up a top award.

The company last month received recognition at the National Transport Awards in London.

Its pioneering app-based travel scheme, VAMOOZ, was crowned Most Innovative Transport Project of the Year.

VAMOOZ is a free-to-download app, offering a one-stop shop to browse day trips, suggest destinations and buy tickets, all through a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.