ABC #397

IGNITION
FABIAN COTTER
Dazed and confused
Bus industry pain, virus ups and downs, protest rallies, fact checking,
deleted posts and new political parties. Mate, what is going on?
yourselves from
mental slavery, none but
ourselves can free our minds.”
“Emancipate
What exactly Bob Marley was
on when coming up with such epic lyrics
is probably more an issue of quantity and
quality than mere type, but their guiding
resonance, soul soothing for the masses
– and even just individuals - in varying
contexts can do much good.
The pandemic-stress elephant isn’t just
in the room for many of us out there in
bus land; it’s pulled up a seat nice and
close with a little mask on his trunk, trying
to do as recommended while questioning
its effectiveness and relevance, waiting for
the circus to get back on the road.
Yep, right about now, said elephant
is picturing stale old peanuts as
immeasurable bliss even against the
backdrop of the pain and angst from
the ringmaster’s whip cracks and
cattle-prods. Not good.
I say this because over the months
we have heard bits and pieces of what
people are going through, and just when
you think maybe it might not be that bad,
this continues to go on and on – and it is
all taking its toll.
As I am writing this, a mobile bus rally
is on its way to the NSW Parliament
house – a bonding of about 60 family
and independent bus businesses
demonstrating that they are doing it
tough and need help.
As I’m sure their plights are mirrored
Australasia-wide, our thoughts are with
them as they highlight the financial,
mental and probably physical toll this is
taking on them. We wish them well.
And on that note, a gentle reminder
that there is a range of great outlets to
seek support from, available from the
federal government via HealthDirect and
BeyondBlue and also closer to the bus
industry like BIC’s Healthwise Corner with
Nikki Brouwers from Navigate Health.
Seriously, if anyone needs to reach out
to them, just ‘emancipate your mind’ and
contact them. You will feel better for even
doing so.
BUS REPRESENTATION
Speaking of BIC, it’s doing some great
work representing the pandemic’s impact
to us as a whole to government, with
extensions to JobKeeper sought to help
many bus businesses of all sizes stay in the
game as best possible.
It is a balancing act between employee
rights and keeping businesses going, but
in the short-term hopefully things can all
come together.
Only recently did BIC report our industry
being mentioned at high levels, with
long-standing NSW operator Crowthers
being the case in point.
PROVOKING THOUGHTS
What a month it has been, which again
feels longer than ever, with much
seemingly going on. From mass lockdown
protests here and overseas to vaccine
‘successes’ and vaccine ‘problems’. To cases
up to cases down. From borders open to
borders closed. Man, it’s all happening.
Even the Magna Carta’s been bandied
about and I’ve not heard that since school.
Felt like a millennia and thought it was a
new Italian dish for a second there. ;).
It gave me a good chance to do some
refreshing, though, which led me to the
powerful Australian Constitution and who
does what and why - and for whom. Great
stuff on some government websites got
me away from the bleedin’ television.
Loved it! Perfect de-stress time and a
good cuppa and a few chocolate bickies
methinks. Ah, now this is living… :)
INSIDE THIS ISSUE…
ABC magazine Issue 397 hears exclusively
about Foton Australia’s new EV bus range
coming here soon, with its hydrogen
fuel-cell city bus gracing this month’s
cover. With Foton’s first fuel-cell buses
appearing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics
Games, it firmly has had its hat in this ring
for a while now, so it will be interesting to
see how it handles the Aussie conditions.
Also inside we re-visit industry favourite
Brisbane Bus Lines, whose new premises
is looking great at a time the company’s
adjusting to pandemic-induced change
for now. Lara-Jane Mitchell represents the
next gen holding the fort and steering the
ship through these tough times.
In terms of test drive reviews we visit
Queensland once again to sample MAN’s
latest project on a classy BLK President
body. Whisper quiet and with ample
grunt for its needs, reviewer Paul Aldridge
seemed to be a big fan.
In addition to this, our In Focus pieces
check out Transdev Melbourne’s big
Scania bus fleet upgrade completion
while also paying tribute to two veteran
Volgren employees with in excess of a
combined 80 years of bus experience
between them. Great stuff!
Now, there was some big news over
the past month; Bustech’s in a technical
partnership with North America’s Proterra,
the WA government’s announced
a big hydrogen push for its mining
industry – ultimately there’s some Hyzon
fuel-cell coaches in the mix of that – and
MAN-Penske has started its key Surfside
“The pandemic-stress elephant isn’t
just in the room for many of us out
there in bus land; it’s pulled up a seat
nice and close.”
Queensland bus order. Volvo Bus Australia
is also gearing up for its 50th anniversary
celebrations next year and, by the time
you read this, the UITP Zero-Emissions Bus
online forum gets underway soon.
Australian bus deliveries took a bit of
hit in August, though – but that was to
be anticipated at some point and in an
industry-historical context it’s still better
than it has been.
Still, it is what it is. We can’t make
up the news, we just report it. Because
making up the news and reporting it to
change and influence people’s thoughts,
opinions and decisions would be very,
very bad. In fact, it’s basically evil in a can.
But I digress.
Until the next thrilling instalment…
6
ABC September 2020 busnews.com.au