Katrina joined Transport Canberra three years ago as a bus driver. She is now an acting supervisor at the Tuggeranong bus depot. She loves to get on the road and drive the buses because she enjoys the human interactions.
Tell us about yourself and your role.
“I joined the team as a bus driver three years ago and I’ve been in the supervisor role at the Starters office 6 months now. Before I came to Transport Canberra, I worked for Telstra on a defence account and as a driving instructor for 10 years.
My husband is a bus driver as well, he has been here for a long time. Now that our kids have been growing up, they know what the right thing is to do, and we don’t need to worry about the afterschool care.
I’ve been driving the buses for three years and now taking on the supervisor role at the depot is great. I like to strive for better things and I’m enjoying it.”
Sounds like you are already a professional driver before joined the team. If people are interested in becoming a bus driver, do they need experiences on driving?
“I didn’t have a heavy vehicle license before I joined Transport Canberra, but I still applied for the job as I have a C license, which makes me eligible to apply for the job.
I submitted my application and went through the four weeks of training courses and officially became a bus driver after graduation. We have trainers here and they will train you through the progress what we called “C to the HR”.
Once I graduated from the training courses, these guys here will help you to upgrade your licence to the Heavy Region license. Then you can drive the buses. After 6 months of the probation periods, they will upgrade you to the big buses. They are fun! I love driving them, it feels like a snake.”
How did you find the transition from a bus driver to a transport officer?
“I wanted a challenge and I knew I would be able to do it, that’s why I always strive for the better opportunities.
In the Starters office, we need to do the rosters for bus drivers and allocate the buses daily. There are always shifts to be covered if the bus drivers are sick or they had a family emergency that they couldn’t work. I need to be able to act quickly and be able to think on other’s perspectives. Things may happen at any time. I need to make it work - make sure our buses go out on time and running smoothly to pick up our passengers.
There are hundreds of drivers in here, trying to learn their names was a big challenge, but I enjoy the challenge. I’m trying my best to get everything organised.”
Do you still drive the buses? How do you feel about being a bus driver?
“I still get a chance to driving, because sometimes I do miss driving. I like the human interactions.
When I started the job for the first 6-12 months, I was worried if I turned into the wrong streets or if I missed my passengers, but when you pass that period, it’s the best job in the world.
As a bus driver, we are out there for the vulnerable people in the community. For example, there was a blind lady that I’ve often had on my service. She is lovely, she’s got a little badge that says I’m visually disabled. We are there to help those people to get to where they need to be.
During the COVID, we didn’t stop driving the buses. We were out there driving the buses every day for the vulnerable people that needed to go to their local groceries or for doctor’s appointment. That’s what we are there for. I missed the old days before the pandemic, where it was super busy, and I had a lot of passengers on my buses. I think we are gradually getting back to that now, which makes me excited.”
It’s incredible to see Katrina consistently challenges herself. The positive attitude is influencing everyone to take more challenges and strive a better future!
