THE boss of bus company First Borders has been nominated for Manager of the Year at the annual UK bus industry awards.

Paul McGowan is just one of three chiefs that have been shortlisted for the routeONE Manager of the Year accolade.

And he will find out if he has been successful at an awards ceremony in Birmingham in November.

Paul told us: "I’m very honoured and excited to have been shortlisted for this award. 

"I have a great team who have worked hard with me to transform this company and deliver consistent improvement in all areas. 

"The emphasis has been on providing high performing, high quality services and serving local communities."

Paul has a transport career spanning 38 years. 

He started as a filing clerk for the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive in 1978 before working his way up to Finance Director and then Managing Director at FirstGroup York.

He has held Managing Director positions at other FirstGroup companies, at National Express and Abellio, before being appointed Regional Project Director for FirstGroup Scotland in 2012 - and then Managing Director of First Scotland East in 2013.

He added: "I’m committed to great customer service, stakeholder relations and supporting the people within the business. 

"This is reflected in the achievement of the Investors in People standard, at three separate operating companies, and a number one ranking in First following the Passenger Focus 2014/15 survey.

"The business has also achieved ISO14001 environmental and ISO9001 quality management standards accreditation."

The routeONE Awards 2016 will take place on November 2 in the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel.