Taking a different route

In this column, we look at the vocations that members of our community are involved in. This issue, Nitin Samudra talks to us about his about his work as a bus driver

Job title

Bus Operator

Have been in this job for Three years

Employer State Transit Authority

How I got into my job

When I arrived in Australia five years ago, I wanted to start life afresh. I had been an entrepreneur in the food industry back home in India. Over a period of 25 years, I had built up three restaurants in three cities - Pune, Kohlapur and Goa. They were all doing well, but I was worked off my feet. In the food industry you have to put in very long hours, plus I was travelling in between the cities. So you could say I was looking for a seachange when I moved here. I wanted to spend more time with my family, my son Nimish and my wife Sanjeet. I’m a familyoriented man, but had missed out on quality time with my family due to work reasons, and now I wanted to change that.

I was quite adamant that I would not do my own fullfledged business – been there, done that! All I wanted was a good quality of life, no work pressures or stresses, and plenty of time with the family.

In the early years I did work in the food industry, but for others: it was, after all, my field and what I knew best. But I kept my major goal in mind, and once we were on our feet, I began to look at other options. I tried various jibs, such as with insurance companies etc. Then the driving job with Sydney Buses came along. I thought, I enjoy driving, I love being out and meeting and chatting to people, so why not give this a try? I had no bus driving experience before: I took an MR (Medium Rigid) driving licence, and was ready to go!

What my job entails

I work out of the Ryde depot. I park my car there and take my bus out to Parramatta. The actual trip starts from there – my destination is Circular Quay. Then I drive back to Ryde. I pride myself on my customer service skills: I try my bit easier for them. But really, I try to look out for all the passengers. And I think they’ve noticed too, you know – a few of them have called in to the depot just to make a mention of the comfortable trip they’ve had on my route. In our own internal newspaper, they’ve run comments about me left by some passengers. And yes, that makes me happy!

What’s hard about my job

Noting really. So far I haven’t come across any hardships. Of course in the initial days there were some problems, but that was because although I knew the route, I did not know things like how many lanes I would have to cross to turn left, where to expect the rush areas, which is the lane on the Harbour Bridge that best suits me. But, practice makes a man perfect: now I know the route like the back of my hand!

How this job has changed my life best to be courteous to all passengers. For elderly passengers, I make it a point to get out of my seat, help them in, get them their tickets and seat them comfortably before getting back into my seat. Young mothers with prams also get special attention; I feel it is my duty to make it just a little

I never imagined I would be doing this job. It is a welcome change from what I was doing before and I feel quite good about it. It has also motivated me to go further and do other things so that I can further my career here. I already had a masters degree in marketing management, but recently I’ve done a Certificate in Transport and Logistics. But I’m not satisfied. My aim is to go up the ladder and I’ve had meetings with our Careers Advisor. I’m currently awaiting promotion, and I hope to go through the ranks to become Depot Manager, or higher, who knows!

Advice for people who may want to get into the industry Go for it – the pay is great. There are vacancies throughout the year. If you are a good driver, and have good people skills to boot, you will enjoy your job.