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Has your agency excelled beyond expectations? Do you have a driver whose professionalism and dedication place them above their peers? Do you have an unsung hero in your office worthy of recognition? Is your new marketing program succeeding beyond your hopes?

If so, submit a nomination for our 2025 Annual Excellence Awards! Nominations are only accepted from TAM members. Nominations can be submitted online at https://www.taminc.org/2025awards by September 1, 2025.

Nominations are accepted in the following categories (click each category to view the score sheet used by our committee):

Winners will be announced at the 2025 Awards Luncheon  on October 8, 2025.

 

The TAM Outstanding Transit System Award honors a TAM Transit System (a Full Member) who has demonstrated achievement in efficiency and effectiveness.

Nominations should outline specific programmatic improvements and achievements for the last fiscal year (July 1 2023 - June 30 2024) in the following areas:

  • Safety – enhanced safety measures
  • Performance – Passenger trips, service miles, vehicles operated in maximum service
  • Operations – efficiencies in operation procedures
  • Customer Service – methods of providing additional value and service to riders
  • Financial Management – effective financial controls
  • Attendance and Employee Costs – containing costs and improving absentee rates
  • Staff Development – methods for recruiting, developing and retaining staff
  • Marketing – developing effective marketing tools to retain and attract riders
  • Policy and Administration – implementing effective and productive administrative techniques
  • Community Relations – promoting positive relations and contributing to a more “livable” community

The TAM Outstanding Non-Profit Agency Award recognizes a non-profit community transportation provider that has distinguished itself in the service it provides. Only 'Community Member' TAM organizations are eligible for this award. Using the file upload box below, send a description of your nominee's efforts and contributions made in the past fiscal year (July 1 2023 - June 30 2024). 

Organizations nominated for this award should demonstrate excellence that is evident to their employees, customers, and to their larger community. Excellent nomination applications will include information outlining improvements in safety, dependability, quality of service, innovation, growth of service, and any other outstanding quality.

The TAM Driver of the Year Award recognizes a TAM member driver who has distinguished him or herself beyond the call of duty. At least 75% of their duties must be those of a transit operator.

The TAM Outstanding Leadership Award recognizes an individual who has distinguished him or herself in the past year in a position with senior managerial responsibility of a member agency. Examples would include Directors of Transportation or heads of major departments within an organization. 

The TAM Rising Star Award recognizes an individual who has distinguished him or herself in the past year as an exceptional staff member or volunteer of a TAM member agency. Please note that this award is not intended for drivers (who should be nominated under the Driver of the Year category) or executives (who should be nominated under the Outstanding Leadership category). 

The Outstanding Transit Innovation Award recognizes the value of new thinking, new technologies, and new strategies in providing quality community transportation services to our customers. Through the outstanding transit innovation award, TAM recognizes the unique efforts of our members to move our industry forward.

This award is intended to recognize a specific, discrete program, product, or campaign that was used in whole or in part between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

Examples of innovation can include, but are not limited to:

  • Innovative methods of community outreach or marketing
  • New technologies
  • New types of service organization, training, recruitment, or employee management/development

Examples of innovative programs might be:

  • New bus routing systems that better serve the community
  • A new marketing campaign using nontraditional methods that resulted in increased service, recruitment, or some other measurable improvement
  • New vehicle technology that enhanced customer experience or improved the quality of life in the communities you serve

Your  written  case  should  tell  the  complete  story  of  the innovation  –  the  thinking  behind it,  the  methods by which it was implemented,  and  the  results.

Your uploaded submission should be no more than three typewritten pages. Up to five pages of supporting documents (ad copy, photographs/charts of the project, and links to any media related to the innovation, or other documents as appropriate).

Our committee will  be  looking  for the degree of innovation involved and the impact said innovation represented to your organization and the community it serves. Attention will be paid to specific examples and quantifiable data showing the results.