Ms Humphrys has been working as a bus driver for Tamworth Buslines for for 33 years.

Originally a male-dominated industry, Ms Humphrys has proved to those who believe women to be inferior when is comes to driving, that women do have good driving skills.

Tamworth Buslines manager Chris Lanham said he nominated Ms Humphrys for the 2011 award because of her dedication to her customers.

"Rhonda has worked for us for 33 years," Mr Lanham said.

"She is keen to serve customers and is very customer focused. She works very well with all of the staff and she is a good and safe driver," he said.

Ms Humphrys said she is a people person and thoroughly enjoys all aspects of the job.

"I started on a town service and I now also do morning and afternoon school runs," Ms Humphrys said.

"I used to live on a property and I always loved driving. Once my children had all gone to school I saw the ad in the paper and I applied for the job."

Originally Ms Humphrys started out driving an old Bedford bus that did not have any power steering.

"The mechanic used to always come up and check my arm muscles," she said.

BusNSW Manager for Industry Development Matt Threlkeld said the awards - that have been running for approximately six years - this year had a great response with nominations.

"We had a good representation of nominations from across the state for the rural award," Mr Threlkeld said.

"It's a good opportunity to give those drivers some recognition for what they do on a daily basis."

The awards were judged by a panel of BusNSW staff which included Executive Director Darryl Mellish.

"It is important to recognise the best drivers in our industry - those who exhibit a positive and cooperative attitude towards their passengers and always drive safely," Mr Mellish said.

The panel looks at all of the nominations and then makes a unified decision on who is the most deserving nominee.

This is the first nomination Ms Humphrys has received and she said she is very excited about the upcoming awards night.

No other bus driver at Tamworth Buslines have yet been nominated for this award.

The awards ceremony will be held in Sydney at the end of next month.