IN FOCUS
CANBERRA BUS RALLY
‘MUM AND DAD’ BUS BUSINESSES STAGE CANBERRA RALLY A 15-strong convoy of family owned ‘mum and dad’ bus companies from across Australia made its way to rally outside Parliament House, Canberra, on October 26 to highlight the economic pressures these small businesses are under.
T
o highlight their plight, the 15 ‘desperate’ small bus-company owners in their buses joined a convoy that circled the lawn in front of the Parliament building in a display of solidarity – organised by Australian Family Owned Bus Companies. The buses joined the convoy after meeting with shadow tourism minister Senator Don Farrell and Labor MPs Susan Templeman (Macquarie) and Mike Freelander (Macarthur) to plead their case, organisers state. They also spoke with shadow infrastructure, transport and regional development minister Senator Catherine King in a phone conference. Opposition leader in the Senate Penny Wong and deputy Leader Kristina Keneally have agreed to meet in the future, organisers add. According to rally spokespeople, as the “bus industry faces extinction” due to a range of issues such as “bankruptcy, bank foreclosures, dangerous decline in mental health and even suicide threats”, the nationwide ‘mum and dad’ family owned and independent bus industry faces such a demise without a federal government rescue package because of the impacts of Covid-19.
HOPELESS AND HELPLESS Owner of Paramount Tours in Bankstown, NSW, Laura Di Leva, said: “Every kilometre travelled costs a business owner about $3.50, so coming to Canberra was a huge sacrifice that cost each operator hundreds of dollars (thousands in some cases).” She thanked politicians for meeting with five Australian Family Owned Bus Companies group representatives, but says small bus company owners felt hopeless. “They have no work and don’t see anything changing,” she said. The ongoing closure of international 32
Rally spokespeople had a meeting before the rally with politicians including Labor MP Susan Templeman (right), pleading their case.
borders had wiped out bus tours to tourist sites around the nation, slashing operator income to zero, she says. Many who relied on the inbound tourism market had heavily invested in vehicles to serve the previous demand, she explains. Now, the hiatus to vehicle repayments had expired and banks and other lenders demanded payment, Di Leva states. Many could not pay and must consider refinancing their homes or using the equity in them to meet repayments. Some risked losing everything, she outlines. “One operator told me he has to fork out over $5,000 per month in repayments starting October,” Di Leva said. “He doesn’t have that money unless he sells his house. He’s 75 and was looking into retiring before the pandemic broke out. “He can’t even sell his vehicles as no-one has the money to buy them, and if he sells at auction he will get only half of their value.” Domestic border closures have also impacted the long-distance charter market. With no indication on when they would reopen, “…we cannot even plan tours for the future.”
Many operators had been forced to deregister vehicles they could not afford to register, which also axed their potential to work if circumstances changed, she adds. All small bus company owners faced financial hardship, with some facing bankruptcy, Di Leva states, who says that she has had zero income for 12 months.
VEHICLE REPAYMENT COSTS Di Leve sold one of her coaches at a heavily reduced rate and is looking at selling another, she confirms. While she had secured a repayment deferral extension until February 2021, the consequence was an extra $1,500 a month, bringing the monthly total to $7,500 for just one vehicle, and an additional eight months to the contract term. “I don’t see how I can make this repayment if I don’t have a substantial amount of work,” she said. “I will have to draw down on my home loan to cover just the vehicle repayment costs.” Also a licensed travel agent, two interstate and two overseas tours were cancelled and Di Leva had to refund all her clients, she says.
ABC November 2020 busnews.com.au
ABC_399_032,34_InFocus_Bus rally Canberra FC.indd 32
16/11/2020 11:59:43 AM
