Meet Greg

Greg Hall, 61, who started working as a bus driver at Newcastle Transport in November last year, has always loved public transport.

A fond childhood memory of his is riding the 380 ‘Green Devils’ (his description of the sound they made when the buses accelerated on Bondi Road) with his grandma in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs in the late-1960s.

Throughout his life, Greg has had a range of careers.

The day he turned 14 and nine months, he was straight down to Woollies, packing bags at the checkouts – still in his school uniform, no less    

Since then, Greg has done everything from producing ABC Newcastle’s radio presenters to being a      freelance       correspondent based in Italy.

He has worked in high pressured city newsrooms as a news journalist,      run his own screen production business and taught screen production and camera presentation for many years at TAFE NSW.

So why bus driving? “It’s a new challenge,” he says.

Greg has always loved driving and is a huge advocate for the service that public transport provides.

He said, “There’s a whole bus community. There are little kids who wave to you and there are older people who tell you about their grandkids.”    

“I’ve even heard young parents singing “Wheels on the Bus” to their toddlers, while they ride on the bus, akin to what I did with my kids, years ago, go figure!”

And that’s just the passengers. Greg says that there is a genuine sense of camaraderie amongst staff as well.

“There’s a real sense of belonging and family here. I found the first three months as a driver terrifying      but there’s always someone to help you, with little pearls of wisdom about how to tackle certain turns or the approach to take on different routes that we service.      You really feel like everyone is keen to see you succeed and the trainers are fantastic,” he said.

Greg is currently working towards his Certificate III in Driving Operations       and, once he finishes that, he will work towards his heavy vehicle licence.

So what kind of person does this job suit?

Greg said that if you’re detail-oriented, love driving well, have good customer service skills, are flexible and adaptable and have good concentration, this could be the right job for you.

“There are people here from all walks of life, and very different industries, from across the globe. There are great opportunities but also great challenges. It’s a matter of attitude. The key for me is that I enjoy being part of this community.”

“And I can guarantee that you will have a great and ever changing view of an involving city and its suburbs from your ‘mobile office perch’ – it never fails to surprise me!”

“I’ve seen some extraordinary sunrises to sunsets – from seascapes, lakescapes to cityscapes, it can be a feast for the eyes, if you are open to the experience.”

“Each day is a new day – you learn and move on because no two days are the same.”

Are you interested in working with us? Please call 1800 929 003.