David Astill, Nottingham City Transport’s Managing Director has been awarded the MBE in the King’s New Year’s Honours List for his services to public transport.
A career busman, David’s interest and passion for buses started at childhood, joining the bus industry immediately after graduating from the University of Westminster in the 1980s.
After holding several senior positions for FirstGroup, David joined Nottingham City Transport as Commercial Manager in 2007. He joined the Board as Commercial and Operations Director in 2018 and took the helm as Managing Director in April 2021.
Since being appointed as NCT’s Managing Director, David has seen NCT through the turbulent times of COVID recovery, whilst contending with the ‘great resignation’ and super-high inflation that followed.
Despite these challenges, NCT and Nottingham’s public transport continues to be recognised nationally as amongst the best in the country:
• Nottingham has the second highest bus usage outside of London
• NCT achieved the highest city bus operator satisfaction score in the country in the most recent independent Transport Focus survey
• NCT’s overall customer satisfaction score at 91% was eight percent higher than the 83% average score for bus operators across England (Transport Focus)
• NCT were crowned UK Bus Operator of the Year in 2024 for a record breaking sixth time, and were also named Large Operator of the Year in the Routeone Award 2024
• 93% of staff reported they are proud to work for NCT in the most recent colleague survey
• Two of the last four Top National Bus Drivers work for NCT: Jonathan Smallman and Zohra Rani
• Completed the electrification of its city single deck fleet in just 18 months, with 62 zero emission single deck buses now in operation
Nottingham’s reputation for high quality public transport comes through David’s belief in and support for partnership with local authorities and other bus operators, who have worked collaboratively for many years through Statutory and Enhanced Partnerships to improve the quality of bus services in the City. These partnerships have resulted in significant investment in bus priority, bus stop infrastructure, multi-operator ticketing schemes and real time information at most bus stops.
In this respect, David received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bus Centre of Excellence last year.
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (FCILT), David’s public transport expertise isn’t confined to NCT or Nottingham. He shares his knowledge and passion across the industry through his active participation within the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), where he has held the position of Regional Chair for the East Midlands for the last three years, as well as sitting on the national Bus Commission.
David has been a long-standing board member at The Association of Local Bus Managers (ALBUM) which represents the vitally important municipally owned and independent SME bus sector in the UK. Now ALBUM’s Chair, he has led a board that has worked tirelessly to represent the views of the municipal and SME sector as generational changes to how bus services in the UK are run are being introduced by government through the Bus Services Act 2025.
David Astill MBE said,
“I am humbled and delighted to receive this honour from the King. I have spent my working career on the buses, first starting at the age of 18, and know only too well that a manager is only as good as the team he leads. I have been blessed with the support, advice and encouragement of some fantastic people over the years, both past and present, and I thank them all. This honour is a reflection on them as much as on me. I’m also very conscious that I would not have achieved my ambitions without the unwavering support of my wonderful family “
Cllr Graham Chapman, Chair of NCT said,
“David thoroughly deserves this award. He is a genuinely good man, totally dedicated to running what is one of the best bus companies in the UK. He is a major reason for its success and his MBE is a tribute to the company as a whole and for the contribution NCT is making to the city”.
Posted on 06 January 2026
