Wanted: Busways Coffs Harbour’s hunt for drivers

Coffs Harbour residents looking for a job which they can fit around a game of lawn bowls or golf need look no further as the city battles a chronic shortage of bus drivers.

The best office in the world with an ever changing view is the sales pitch as a Coffs Harbour bus company moves to address a critical shortage of drivers for school runs.

Busways says the situation is so dire it’s innovating to recruit - putting on ‘come and try’ days where members of the public with no more than a car licence can take the wheel and hit the road under supervision.

Such an event was held at the Coffs Harbour depot on Thursday - attracting about a dozen interested people.

Juliana Meta, service delivery manager Busways North Coast, explained they are down to “about 20” drivers at Coffs, and want 10 more.

Ms Meta said they are looking for people available in the mornings and afternoons on weekdays - “a people person who likes kids because customer focus is our main purpose”.

Juliana Meta: “We have to get the kids to and from school no matter what the weather is doing.” Picture: Chris Knight

She said a shortage of drivers wasn’t limited to Coffs, and was being experienced right across her patch which stretches from Laurieton to Yamba.

“And we need mechanics too,” Ms Meta said.

Retired post deliverer Harry Major was among those at Coffs who went to the open day.

The 64-year-old self-funded retiree was a postie for 42 years - “I got a plaque” - and after doing the grey nomad adventure around Australia, is looking to return to the workforce.

“My father was a bus driver and a postie so I guess you could say it’s in the blood,” Mr Major said.

“I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with buses.”

Harry Major remembers as a child when he used to trip around in a bus driven by his father. Picture: Chris Knight

Under the watchful eye and nerves of steel of Busways learning and development officer Tiffany Pell, applicants at the open day got to take a 12-metre bus for a lap of the South Coffs industrial estate, including this writer.

Ms Pell, who was “born and bred in the bus industry” at Nambucca, believed some good prospects had stepped up.

Ms Meta said they were looking for drivers who could work from 7 to 9am and 2 to 5pm, who would be employed on a casual basis, with an opportunity to transition to permanent part-time or full-time down the track.

Busways provides full training.

Coffs Coast Advocate journalist Chris Knight took a bus for a lap around the industrial estate. “It was so much fun, but you have to be very mindful of the length of the vehicle,” he said.

With unemployment at historically low levels, labour shortages are widespread on the Mid-North Coast, particularly in the tourism and hospitality sectors who were forced to lay-off stay during the Covid shutdowns.

Ms Meta said poor weather such as the Coffs Coast had experienced earlier this year with months of rain was a challenge for bus drivers.

“But we have to get the kids to and from school no matter what the weather is doing,” she said.

Busways marketing co-ordinator Saxon Cheng said employment was a near given for qualified drivers.

“Bus drivers are always in demand. The skills learned as a bus driver are transferable both in Australia and Overseas. This is a recession-proof career,” Mr Cheng said.

He said the company was running a number of open days across the coast in a bid to recruit drivers, including one at its Kempsey depot on Saturday, June 18.