Kerrie Grant is taking the wheel at Southampton bus company Unilink, parent company Go South Coast has confirmed.

Responsible for the day-to-day running of the busines , Kerrie joins the local operator from sister company Salisbury Reds.

Before that, she spent time at First Southampton - completing the firm’s graduate scheme, with stints across the UK, including Manchester, Glasgow and Stirling.

“My graduate training involved getting to grips with different areas of the bus industry - and I enjoyed my time as acting staff manager in Southampton, and as assistant operations manager for Salisbury Reds. Both roles helped me develop my ‘people management’ skills and prepared me for my new position at Unilink."

A partnership between Bluestar and the University of Southampton, Unilink was originally created to transport the university’s staff and students between teaching sites and halls of residence, now the operator’s services are used by people from all walks of life.

Kerrie added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me - particularly as I’ve been on the ‘other side of the fence’ as a student regularly travelling by bus when at university in Stirling. Because of this, I’m able to gain a better understanding of the needs and wishes of our customers here, and I’m very much looking forward to getting to know the Unilink team.”