ABC #395

OPERATOR
MT GRAVATT BUS SERVICE
So how did it start and what was the
inspiration for it all? ABC magazine
spoke with MTG general manager
Rob Brooker, who explained: “It wasn’t
easy in 1974 to find some way to
supplement the family income when
you have three small children and a
newborn baby. So, thinking outside
the square, Del Cole bought the local
school bus; she reasoned that her
three children would be dropped at
their primary school and the baby
would travel in a bassinette under
the driver’s seat.
“The easy task was driving a
crash-box Austin. The hard task
was firstly to acquire the funds to
purchase the bus as it was against
Commonwealth Bank policy to lend
money to a woman in business – ‘Too
risky!’ they said. And, secondly, to be
accepted as a woman working in a
totally male industry.
“With perseverance, Del became the
first woman in Australia to become an
accredited bus operator,” he said.
FLEET AND STAFF
In terms of bus product, Brooker
says over a period of many years
MTG has tried and tested numerous
brands and the current fleet consists of
Volvo, MAN and Scania.
“Throughout the past eight years we
have received good service and very
reliable, economical and reasonably
priced options from Scania resulting
in the majority of purchases since
2012 being a variety of body makes
and designs on Scania engine/chassis
combinations,” he said.
As for the staff, he says being a
family business since 1974, to this day,
“Del still considers all employees part
of the Mt Gravatt family”.
“When recruiting, we look for people
who care, have great customer service
skills and who like to be a part of a
team environment.
“Management works hard to ensure
all employees enjoy coming to work
and being part of a team that achieves
great things every day,” he added.
CORONAVIRUS STRATEGY
With the Covid-19 coronavirus
pandemic having caused much
havoc for many in the Australasian
bus community, if not the industry
as a whole around the word, just
how has Mt Gravatt handled it?
“A large portion of our business
operates school charters and seniors’
charters, so when Queensland schools
closed and virtually all destinations
frequented by our seniors’ groups
closed, that portion of our business
stopped overnight,” Brooker said.
“Mt Gravatt implemented numerous
and significant cost-cutting measures
in a strategy to accommodate no-one
losing their job, which has been
successful to date.
“We’ve just started to receive new
bookings for school charters and we
hope to be able to have our seniors’
groups out on their adventures again
before the end of the year.”
In March 2020, MTG contacted
numerous suppliers to request a
‘stand down’ of on-going supply for
the fleet, which were not going to be
used for the foreseeable future. This
included bus finance, bus insurance,
bus digital two-way radio service
and bus telematics services, which
effectively reduced the on-going
cost of the affected fleet significantly,
Brooker explained.
“By mid-May, when Queensland
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ABC July 2020 busnews.com.au