We are delighted to share that our CEO, Sonya Byers OBE, has won the Outstanding Achievement award at the British Asian Women Awards 2026.
The award recognises a body of work built over nearly two decades: growing Women in Transport from a London volunteer network into a national membership organisation, and using that platform to change how the transport industry recruits, promotes, and supports women.
From member to CEO
Sonya joined Women in Transport as a member in 2007/2008, looking for professional development and a network while working as a transport planner. She volunteered, joined the board in 2013 as Events and CPD Chair, became Vice President in 2017, and led the rebrand of WTS London into the national organisation we are today.
In 2019 she proposed the role of CEO and stepped into it. Membership has since grown from around 120 in 2017 to more than 1,800 nationwide, supported by nine active regional hubs.
What that leadership has built
Advance, our mentoring programme, has supported over 500 participants since 2017. Sonya co-created it, co-delivered it for eight years, and became a mentor on the programme herself in 2026. 2027 marks its 10th anniversary year.
Lead, our leadership development programme, has supported over 200 women since April 2021. In June 2026, we secured £20,000 from the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund to fund places for five women, following earlier bursaries from the Worshipful Company of Carmen and Women in Bus and Coach.
Grow, our one-to-one coaching offer, launched in June 2026 and is open to all members of any gender, giving access to a panel of six sector-specific coaches at preferential rates.
The Equity Index has become the industry benchmark for gender equity in transport, with its third edition due in 2026 and endorsement from the APPG for Women in Transport.
Research that changes practice, including Navigating Parenthood with Kier, Navigating Menopause with PA Consulting, Intergenerational Workforces with the RHA, and Driving Change Together with Women in Bus and Coach, launched for International Women’s Day 2026.
The Women’s Safety Working Group, launched in January 2024 to continue the work of the Transport Champions on violence against women and girls across the network.
The Diversity and Inclusion Bus Group, which Sonya co-founded in 2019 to improve representation across bus and coach.
In May 2026, the Board unanimously approved our first 10-year Business Plan and the 2026 fiscal year budget, giving the organisation the stability to plan a decade of advocacy rather than a year of it.
Sonya also runs the organisation on a four-day working week with fully flexible working, on the basis that a small non-profit team can be flexible and still deliver.
Beyond transport
Sonya has been a trustee of parkrun Global since 2023, where she is EDI Lead Trustee and Chair of the Safeguarding Committee, and has been Run Director at Barking junior parkrun since 2014. She is also a Patron of Women on the Move Against Cancer (WOMAC). Between 2023 and 2025, she served on the Department for Transport's Transport Employment Skills Taskforce, chaired by Rachel Skinner CBE.
In 2024, she was awarded an OBE for Services to Diversity in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Thank you
This from Sonya in response to her Outstanding Achievement Award: “Our thanks to the British Asian Women Awards for the recognition, and to every member, volunteer, mentor, partner and sponsor who has helped build this organisation. The award belongs to the community as much as to the person collecting it.”
If you would like to be part of what comes next for Women in Transport: the latest Equity Index survey opens in September, and applications for the 10th edition of our Advance mentoring programme open later the same month. Or click the button below to see our latest events across the UK.