Les (the father) is a familiar face for many in the Transport Canberra team!
As the field operations manager responsible for the Northside of town, Les ensures that everything runs smoothly on our roads, providing real time updates to make sure buses are running efficiently and reliably for the Canberra community.
Les’ journey with Transport Canberra began in 1984, when he started as a wash and fueler at the Belconnen bus depot. Over the years, he has worked across various roles from driving buses for 20 years, to being a Transport Workers Union delegate and Health and a Safety Representative for over a decade.
His commitment has seen him work at all of the Canberra bus interchanges across his career and he has taken on a range of roles from transport officer at the starter's office, communications operator in the radio and communications centre to field operations transport officer.
Les has also been instrumental to managing bus services around many major events such as the Olympic torch relay in 2000, numerous multicultural festivals and in coordinating special football charters to GIO Stadium.
His dedication to customer service and professionalism has earned him many compliments from colleagues, passengers, event attendees and event organisers throughout the years.
“The requirement to be a bus driver or a Transport Officer is customer service and to always be professional,” Les said.
Beyond work, Les is a retired volunteer bush firefighter in both New South Wales and the ACT, serving as the Captain of the Hall Volunteer Rural Fire and Emergency Service Brigade for many years. This impressive list of accomplishments is why he's commonly known as "The Captain".
Les is now 73 years old and next year he will be celebrating his 40-year work anniversary with ACTION/Transport Canberra.
James (the son) is also a part of the Transport Canberra family. He has embraced his role with the same level of dedication as his father in his 16-year career.
Before joining Transport Canberra, James was a licensed security guard. Seeking a greater job security and work-life balance, he decided to follow his father's footsteps and join the team.
“Dad encouraged me to join Transport Canberra as it gives me job security and he says it is the best job in Canberra,” James said.
While Les and James have worked together in the events and charters space, their professionalism remains paramount at work.
“Dad has always says to me that when I am at work, I am a driver employed with Transport Canberra and a dad comes in second place,” James laughs.
To all the dads who takes us on the best journeys, Happy Father's Day!
