At 18-years-old, Ross Ivory decided to become a bus driver. Now, 50 years later, and the Girraween local still loves driving his “fair dinkum” passengers around.
Ivory’s fascination with buses started at a young age, when he would travel on the bus with his mum and brother.
“I always had an innate curiosity about buses. Eventually, as I got older, I thought I’ve got to do this, so I did,” he told Parra News.
“My family was very excited about it and backed me all the way.”
Ivory started his career as a bus conductor in 1972 and, after three years of training, he was finally able to get behind the wheel and drive his own bus at 21-years-old.
“I was a bit nervous at first, but I was more excited about doing it because it was something that I had thought about since I was a young boy,” Ivory recalled about his first day as a bus driver.
“The first bus I ever drove was an AC single decker and I thought it was the best thing ever and a really good feeling.”
50 years later and Ivory still loves his job as a Ryde Depot bus driver, saying its thanks to all the people he meets that he continues to be in the same career today.
“Over the past 50 years, two of my favourite things about the job, without a doubt is the comradery I have with my co-workers and the interactions I have with the public. I enjoy meeting new people every day and talking to the passengers,” he said.
“The passengers are always friendly, they are all fair dinkum and just the ‘ants pants’; they make my job easy. It’s also great when they thank you, even if it’s from the back door when they give you a wave, and motion thank you.”
For Ivory, being a bus driver isn’t just about driving passengers from point A to B – it’s about going the extra mile.
“I also had an elderly lady on my bus one day. She was living in the Ryde region. She hopped onto my bus, and the poor thing was completely lost,” he said.
“I asked her where she lived, and walked her up the street, found her house and made sure she got inside safe. This was a one-off occasion, but it made me feel good knowing I had gotten her home safe.”
And for others considering getting behind the wheel, Ivory is encouraging them to not waste any time and hop on board now.
“My advice to anyone who’s wanting to become a driver would be to always take your time, be alert for your surroundings, never hurry and just be positive!” he said.
To find out more about becoming a bus driver go to http://www.busdriver.au.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.