It’s hard to believe, looking at our trophy cabinet, that a little over a decade ago, the QSi Awards didn’t exist. Ten years ago no one had heard of Brexit or Covid, ULEZ didn’t exist and Uber had only just launched in London. None of us knew at the time the challenges that lay ahead of us (and if someone had told us would we have believed them?) but if ever we needed industry awards that recognised our collective achievements it was then.

For those that don’t already know, the QSi Awards were started by Professional Driver Magazine to raise standards and celebrate the operators in our industry going above and beyond when it came to Quality, Service and Innovation.

We are the only operator to have won at least one award every single year since the awards began. This is not a record we will let go of without a fight and this year we are thrilled to have been shortlisted in the categories closest to our hearts:

• Private Hire Operator of the Year – for the absolute care we show our people and planet
• Sustainability – for continuing to lead the way, educate and campaign
• Community – for our work with our communities and the Think Pink alliance

Uber, Brexit, ULEZ, pandemic, climate emergency, cost of living crisis … the challenges we have faced as an industry (and a nation) in the last ten years have been – to use a woefully overused word – unprecedented. Many operators have sadly not survived them. This has even been reflected in the awards categories, with a special Diversification category last year that celebrated how operators had adapted and innovated in order to keep going (our team took it home and it may be the one we are proudest of because of everything we went through to get it).

When the awards began ten years ago it was all about being recognised as the best in our industry. What we have found in the face of unprecedented challenges at industry level and on a global scale is that threat brings us closer together. The biggest threat we all face is the climate emergency and it is only by working together that we can make a difference there too. The tenth anniversary awards night will be less about beating our competition and more about taking a look around the room and raising a glass to our collective survival and future partnerships.

To find out more about the QSi Awards visit QSI Awards – Professional Driver Magazine (prodrivermags.com) To work with a car and courier operator with a winning reputation and a great track record call 020 7490 4222 or email enquiries@glh.co.uk