A 'BUS-MAD' teenager who one day hopes to become a driver has secured a job at Oxford Bus Company.

Jack Cooper is not old enough to drive yet but his love of public transport has already given him a foot in the door.

The 16-year-old from Abingdon has begun working part-time as an assistant at Oxford Bus Company’s Customer Lounge and Travel Shop offices in Gloucester Green and Queen’s Lane after impressing the firm on work experience last summer.

Jack, a former John Mason School pupil, whose great-grandfather Reg White was a mechanic for the Oxford Bus Company, said: “I’ve loved buses for as long as I can remember.

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“My great-grandfather worked at the old bus depot in Cowley Road and there’s a bench with his name on it at the Oxford Bus Museum in Long Hanborough.”

Jack, who enjoys buying all-day tickets and trying out routes around the county, said his favourite service so far is the City 250 service which links Oxford and Bicester.

He said: “I like the scenery. It goes through Bletchingdon and Heyford and avoids the traffic on the A34 and near Bicester Village.”

The teenager rates the red Oxford Brookes buses as his favourite because of their leather seats and is currently working a day a week around his business studies course at City of Oxford College.

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He got his initial opportunity at Oxford Bus Company after contacting managing director Phil Southall as part of a school assignment to write a speech.

Mr Southall suggested Jack come in for work experience, which he completed last August.

Mr Southall said: “Jack has an infectious passion for buses and transport systems which shone through on his time with us on work experience.

"His knowledge and enthusiasm has really endeared him to customers and made him a valuable colleague.”

For Jack, his new job is the first step towards his dream of becoming a bus driver.

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He said: “I’d love to become a bus driver and do a variety of routes so I’m not just doing the same one every day – but I’ve got to learn to drive first."

Jack was crowned the winner of a county-wide contest by Stagecoach in 2017 to draw blueprints for an environmentally-friendly ‘bus of the future’.

His dream bus, powered by electricity, offered passengers free wifi, USB charging points and took contactless card payments.

His electric bus illustrations were shown off on board Stagecoach’s Oxfordshire buses, including its eco-friendly 21 Euro 6 green-engine fleet.

Oxford Bus Company won UK Large Bus Operator of the Year last month in a prestigious national bus industry award.

It scooped the accolade in the Route One Awards, dubbed ‘The Oscars of the bus, coach and mini-bus industry’, in the Large Bus Operator category.

The awards recognise and celebrate achievements, innovation and the highest standards of excellence in all aspects of operations.

Mr Southall said the award is a 'fantastic achievement' and is proud of the whole team.