Kendal Stagecoach employee celebrates 25 years with company

The awards event, held at the Low Wood Bay Resort and Spa in Windermere on Friday, March 14, celebrated the employees' commitment to the company.

The 21 staff members have collectively worked for Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire for a total of 562 years.

Dave Brodie, an inspector who works for Stagecoach in Kendal, with his long-service award (Image: Supplied) Among the award recipients was Dave Brodie, an inspector in Kendal, who has been with the company for 25 years.

Mr Brodie's journey with Stagecoach began with two six-month stints before he returned around the turn of the century.

What was initially intended to be a short-term job turned into a long-term career.

He said: "When I started back for the start of this 25 years, it was actually my third time, and there was no intention to stay more than a year or so.

"But I started enjoying it.

"I'd left a couple of times previously to do continental long-distance coach driving.

"But I met somebody and the continental side of stuff wasn't appealing anymore.

"The long-distance stuff is no job when you've got a partner.

"I returned as a driver in 1999, became a relief inspector in 2012, and then full-time inspector in 2021.

"I enjoy the job, especially once I moved up to the supervisory side of things."

Mr Brodie, who works in his hometown of Kendal, shares the inspector role with a colleague.

He is responsible for work allocation and revenue reconciliation.

He continued: "When the drivers pay in every night, I make sure that everything tallies.

"With contactless payments, we don't see anywhere near as much cash as we used to so it does make the job easier."

Although he is no longer a driver, Mr Brodie applauded Stagecoach's recent efforts to improve employee wellbeing.

He said: "They've just reduced a lot of the duty hours down to more manageable hours for people.

"They have a yearly survey and a couple of years ago the biggest thing, even bigger than the salary, was having more family-friendly hours.

"And they've done that.

"Obviously, we're not a nine-to-five job - we've got buses here going out from half past five in the morning until half past midnight - but nobody's forced to work more than 39, 40 hours at most, unless they volunteered for it.

"It shows that the company's listening to what the drivers are wanting and responding to it."

Now age 50, Mr Brodie said: "I think I'll be here till I retire now.

"I enjoy coming to work, I like the people I work with, so I see no reason that I'll change."