ABC #398

“We’re not out to cause trouble.
We’re doing things right. All we’ve
done is ask for help.”
Dozens of family owned and
independent buses are on the
brink of collapse, thousands of
drivers could lose their jobs and
‘mum and dad’ operators stand
to lose their homes as an impact
of Covid-19 restrictions, the group
states.
While smaller bus companies
were grateful for government
help such as JobKeeper and
did not begrudge the success
of large companies – which are
needed to maintain the industry –
organisers say many aspects of the
industry had been overlooked and
they needed help with:
• costs – depot rent, tolls, and
vehicle registration, insurance and
fuel
• work – fair share of government
transport jobs for work such as
hotel quarantine transfers and rail
replacement transport
• stimulus package to remain
viable and employ staff.
Under the banner Australian
Family Owned Bus Companies,
rally organisers would like to drive
the lobby to federal parliament
in Canberra to support intra- and
inter-state colleagues at a date to
be announced.
Stay tuned...
It’s a phenomenal
effort. There’s
obviously a lot of
pain out there.
Opposite:
Under the
banner
Australian Family
Owned Bus
Companies, rally
organisers would
like to drive the
lobby to federal
parliament in
Canberra; Dozens
of family owned
and independent
buses are on the
brink of collapse
due to Covid-19
restrictions.
Above:
The rally brought
together more
than 50 family
owned and
independent
buses.
Left:
There were calls
for help with
costs, allocation
of work and
a stimulus
package.
busnews.com.au October 2020 ABC
27