August 05 2022
Alan Cunliffe is a City Red driver at First Bus’s Southampton depot, having joined in January 2016. In April, Alan went above and beyond in the care of one of his passengers when someone suddenly became ill on his bus.
Subsequently, another customer who witnessed what happened got in contact with First to commend Alan’s actions.
Alan was driving route number 7 when a customer was taken unwell with a seizure. Alan stopped the bus safely, called 999, and relayed information while another customer gave first aid.
He then contacted Control and arranged for the other customers on the bus to transfer onto the following bus. The unwell customer was in seizure for nearly five minutes. As they started to become more conscious and to speak, it became clear that Alan recognised them as a regular passenger on his service.
Alan was able to engage them in conversation, keeping them calm. He then took a second call from 999. The whole incident lasted nearly one and a half hours. The customer who witnessed the incident reported that Alan never appeared to be in a hurry, or show anything less than 100% focus on making sure the ill passenger was safe and the rest of the customers were seamlessly transferred onto the next service.
Carol Sim, Head of Operations at First Hampshire, Dorset and Berkshire, said: “Alan did really well, taking control, recognising the unwell customer and talking to them to calm them, and also ensuring the safety of the other customers. We are hugely proud of Alan.”