In Western Australia, the distances are very vast and extremely harsh at different times of the year. The more modern coaches can have an enormous amount of difficulty doing what our coaches do week in, week out all year round. For example; we can leave Broome and the humidity be 100% and the temp 40/45 degrees. As we go south, we can come across dust storms so large and so thick it can reduce our visibility to a few hundred metres in any direction. Add in extremely high humidity, red hot temperatures then electronics and you have the recipe for coach failure. At other times of the year we need to contend with cyclonic conditions. Rain so heavy, that again visibility is down to a few metres. Add to that winds over 120kph, flooded roads and again, add in electronics and the combination can prove to be disastrous.
Never the less, it's just the most beautiful country to drive in! The towns can be hundreds of kilometres apart eg: Broome to Hedland is 612 kilometres and in between there are only 2 roadhouses with cooks and cleaners and in a lot of cases backpackers, who are working there so they can see more of this amazing country. History has shown, that when you have break-down out there, you are not going to get a lot of help with electronic issues. So by running the coaches we choose to run, which have very little in the way of electronics, there is a huge reduction in problems and they can keep going through wind, pouring rain, cyclonic conditions, dust storms etc, as the weather conditions don't have that kind of affect on non-electronic coaches. In turn, we have a lot less coaches shutting down due to electrical problems.
Of course, all transport options, whether it be plane, train or bus, are still going to have problems, however, we have reduced a lot of foreseeable issues by choosing coaches that suit the kind or travel that we do. If we do have a problem, our drivers stand a huge chance of being able to fix it to keep you moving to your destination. We also have 2 mechanics on the end of a phone 24 hours a day to assist our drivers on the rare occasion that a problem does occur. The driver will take photos of broken or damaged parts, send them to our workshop guys who can then make an accurate diagnosis of the problem and talk the drivers through a repair. This can save huge delays. And don't forget we have to deal with livestock on the roads as well, they can do an enormous amount of damage and again thanks to our dedicated drivers in wanting to get you to your destination as quickly and as safely as possible, they will do repairs on the side of the road if that's what it takes to keep you moving. Our coaches are older, they are robust and can take many knocks!
Our goal is to always get you to your destination safely and on time and therefore we choose to use the best suited coaches for the job, as well as the easiest to repair roadside on the rare occasion a problem occurs. We therefore hope you understand, that our coaches are chosen for reliability not looks!
Ross Sims
Owner/Director