{"id":15851,"date":"2022-11-12T10:30:25","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T23:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.askroz.com.au\/blog\/?p=15851"},"modified":"2022-11-28T16:06:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T05:06:18","slug":"blue-mountains-explorer-bus-back-fulltime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askroz.com.au\/blog\/blue-mountains-explorer-bus-back-fulltime\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Mountains Explorer Bus back fulltime"},"content":{"rendered":"

The famous Blue Mountains Explorer Bus red double-decker sightseeing fleet will be back on route seven days from Saturday, December 17, after a fitful three years.<\/p>\n

One of the longest running tourism businesses in Australia\u2019s first tourist destination, the fleet was parked indefinitely in July 2021.<\/p>\n

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Managing director of Fantastic Aussie Tours (FAT) which owns the fleet, Jason Cronshaw, said one hop-on\/hop-off bus had recently trundled the sightseeing circuit around Leura and Katoomba on Saturdays and public holidays “mainly as a marketing exercise to keep the buses in the public eye\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n

“Without international visitors, it just wasn\u2019t viable to do more,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

“Now that the number of overseas guests is growing, we can operate seven days once more, albeit with just one bus.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The past three years had been the toughest experienced by the company, which was forced to sell four out of six double-decker explorer buses and half of its overall fleet.<\/p>\n

The Blue Mountains Explorer Bus idled for 27 days over December 2019 \u2013 January 2020 because of the bushfires and reported a 60 per cent drop in passengers between that December and February `20.<\/p>\n

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During the weekend of March 14-15, 2020, numbers plummeted another 50 per cent almost overnight because of coronavirus.<\/p>\n

Four days later [on March 19], Explorer Bus services were slashed from 15 a day to seven, with 2.5 drivers a day to one.<\/p>\n

The fleet then operated only on weekends and holidays, with the average weekly driver roster of 350 hours dropping to 78.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile parent company FAT suffered an 85 per cent drop in charter work and forward cancellations from schools and corporates and other group travel.<\/p>\n

Work picked up but came to an abrupt halt when the five-month lockdown was declared in July 2021.<\/p>\n

“Every time we reopened there was another lockdown, so in the end we just closed indefinitely. It wasn\u2019t viable to drive a 77-seater bus out of the depot for one or two people.<\/p>\n

“It costs us $3.50 per kilometre on a 26km circuit and tickets are $49 for an all-day pass. The maths just didn\u2019t add up.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, Mr Cronshaw himself drove a morning and afternoon bus run for a local private school to feed his own family.<\/p>\n

He now also works as head of operations at Scenic World, another long-time Blue Mountains tourist attraction.<\/p>\n

“It was the only way to keep the business going (albeit on skeleton staff),\u2019\u2019 Mr Cronshaw said.<\/p>\n

“Thankfully I love my job at Scenic World and it\u2019s actually been rejuvenating, but the past three years has been really tough.<\/p>\n

“However, I\u2019m only one of so many business owners with assets and staff with families to feed.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

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FAT did attempt to adapt the business to no avail.<\/p>\n

“The analogy of doing a three-point turn in a three-metre-wide laneway in a double-decker bus comes to mind,\u2019\u2019 Mr Cronshaw said.<\/p>\n

“Everything we tried was stalled by lockdown or border closures.<\/p>\n

“It was crushing to see the business my parents established slipping away.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

However, he was confident that fortunes had now begun to turn with encouraging inbound visitor numbers across Australia including the Blue Mountains.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not holding my breath for pre-pandemic visitation numbers for a while yet, but we are seeing a steady influx of international guests.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Border re-openings, a weak Australian dollar, as well as the alure of a safe and sunny Australian summer compared to the bleak prospect of a European winter under energy sobriety measures were contributing factors.<\/p>\n

“I recognise the fantastic blessing that Blue Mountains Explorer Bus, FAT and the other arm of the business, Christian Fellowship Tours, have survived when other businesses have not,\u2019\u2019 Mr Cronshaw said.<\/p>\n

“So I have a new appreciation for the business, the services we offer, our visitors and my brilliant staff, and I\u2019m prepared to live and do business in this changing post-pandemic era.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n