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Award win for Arriva hero in the snow

Lorraine Francis receiving her awardCroydon driver Lorraine Francis has picked up an award for her services above and beyond the call of duty in the recent London Bus Awards ceremony held at the London Transport Museum.

A letter of commendation from an elderly couple who were so overwhelmed by the kindness they received from Lorraine lead to her being nominated.

It was November 30, one of the worst days for London’s transport in living memory. Appalling weather and heavy snow had paralysed the capital.

In and around Croydon the situation was even worse because several accidents on the A23 had brought traffic to a complete standstill. Buses were up to eight hours late getting back to the garage.

In the midst of the chaos Jean and Bernard Molland, both aged 81, were attending Croydon’s Mayday Hospital. Jean is visually impaired and her husband has cancer and immune system deficiency.

They left the hospital at 3.30 pm and got a bus to East Croydon station to make the rest of the journey home to Purley by train.

There was a blizzard and the trains were not running. They walked from the station to the main road where they hoped to catch a bus. They saw a stationary Route 60 bus and the driver allowed them to board.

He said the bus would terminate at South Croydon bus garage instead of going on to Coulsdon. Passengers were telephoning taxi services without success and by this time Jean said she was “in pain and suffering.”

In her letter Jean Molland writes: “My husband asked the bus driver if any of his colleagues at the garage would be prepared to take us home.”

The driver contacted the garage to see if anyone could be of assistance.

Jean adds: “When we eventually arrived at the garage a young lady jumped on the bus and told us to stay where we were because she was going to look after us.”

The ‘young lady’ was driver Lorraine Francis who arranged with her managers to take the elderly couple home in one of the Arriva London company cars.

“I asked a shift engineer, Clive Holder, if he would come with me because the road conditions were atrocious,” explained Lorraine. “He said yes immediately and we set off on a journey that would normally take no more than 10 minutes. It took well over an hour.

“When we got the couple home it was 11pm and they were exhausted. But they invited us in for a cup of tea. We politely refused and I told them the lift home was all part of the service. They were a lovely old couple who really did their best to support each other and make the best of things.”

In her closing note Jean added: “I want to say that without these wonderful people I am positive we would never have reached home. We want to put on record our gratitude to your staff for the extreme kindness and care we received.”

Lorraine Francis receiving her awardLorraine has also been praised by the management team at Croydon, Derek Hall, operating manager said: "Lorraine is always friendly, cheerful and willing to volunteer or assist with any duty which arises. She also shows natural and instant concern for anybody who is feeling disadvantaged, upset or generally in need of support, often ignoring her own feelings in the process.

"Her actions of 30th November are entirely typical of her nature and she is a valuable asset to the garage and the company as a whole."
 

Published: Fri 25 Feb 2011Modified: Wed 2 Mar 2011Archived: Thu 31 Mar 2011

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