“I’ve got the best office window in all of Canberra”: the father-daughter bus drivers keeping the city moving
Transport Canberra bus driver Richard Luff has a very special memory of his daughter that always makes him smile – when she was little, she would sit beside him and pretend to hold a steering wheel, copying his movements as he drove.
So, it should come as no surprise that the now 23-year-old Charlotte is one of Transport Canberra’s youngest bus drivers and part of a growing number of women on the team. She is continuing the Luff legacy.
It was a proud moment for Richard. And after spending almost 18 years of his life dedicated to keeping the city moving, watching her flourish in the Luff legacy has been nothing but heart warming.
Coming from a long line of bus drivers (Richard’s father owned a bus in 1947), Charlotte grew up with a passion for driving. But it was in Year 10 that she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and make a real difference in people’s lives.
“My dad has been a bus driver pretty much all my life and I’ve always looked up to him,” says Charlotte.
“There’s not a lot of female bus drivers compared to male drivers and I wanted to be that one extra female to join the crew.”
Encouraged by Richard every step of the way, Charlotte says she went into the training knowing what to expect and with open arms. Excited to give back to the Canberra community, nine months since her induction and training, it’s been beyond what she expected, in the best way possible.
“I love my freedom; I love listening to music and I love meeting the people as well,” she says.
“I think what helps me keep going is knowing that I’m driving nice and smooth and giving them a really nice customer experience on the road. I just want to make other people happy.”
And even though there’s almost 17 years difference between the start of their career journeys, Richard still shares the same sentiments as his daughter – it’s just a bonus they can have the odd lunch together or wave to each other from their respective bus windows while driving around the capital.
“I have the best office window in all of Canberra,” says Richard.
“Every day is different, I love 99% of the passengers and it’s a great place to work…I never get sick of it and if you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life.”
Revving up a bus driver recruitment round, Transport Canberra is calling for more passionate individuals to join Richard and Charlotte as permanent part-time or casual bus drivers.
As she builds her own community and connections at Transport Canberra, Charlotte is hoping that she can inspire other young women to be bus drivers as well. Richard is very happy to hand over the keys to his daughter as she continues to build her future.
“I want people to see my face and think ‘That’s that really lovely bus driver!’ and change people’s perspective of bus driving. I also want to see more young females behind the wheel as well,” says Charlotte.
“For the first few months it was ‘that’s Luffy’s daughter’ and now it’s ‘that’s Charlotte’s dad!’ She’s stolen the limelight,” adds Richard.
And as for Charlotte’s advice for young women (or anyone) thinking about sitting in the driver’s seat?
Whether it’s the beginning of your career or a much-needed change from corporate life, it’s simple:
“They should just do it if they really want to do it. It’s so freeing.”
This article was originally published on HerCanberra.
