Greyhound Australia Chief Executive Officer Robert Thomas says the company has become the sole carrier for the ‘Big Australian’ at
Greyhound Australia Chief Executive Officer Robert Thomas says the company has become the sole carrier for the ‘Big Australian’ at its Olympic Dam site, taking miners to and from mining camps, as well as from town to town.
“This is a major coup for Australia’s oldest coach company. When fully developed this deal has a potential fleet size of over 50 coaches,” Thomas says.
“The tender win means Greyhound Australia will be the sole provider of passenger ground transport services to the Olympic Dam site.
“The longest run we’ll do is about 500 kilometres and all up the BHP Billiton Olympic Dam deal will mean Greyhound will cover more than 1,000,000 kilometres each year.
“In addition to the scheduled services, the BHP Billiton Olympic Dam contract also allows for the provision of additional vehicles for mine maintenance activities, unscheduled charters and additional ad hoc ground transport needs.
“Greyhound will initially provide a total of 13 vehicles permanently on site, with additional assets relocated as needed to support ad hoc requirements as well as a unique website for BHP Billiton Olympic Dam employees and contractors to access and book their trips.”
Thomas says the BHP Billiton deal is just one of many Greyhound has in the pipeline as the coach company continues to look for growth opportunities whilst diversifying its revenue portfolio.
“Historically, Greyhound has relied heavily on two revenue sources – express passenger, and small freight. However, with a new management team and strategic direction we are looking at various ways to more effectively use both the hard and soft asset base,” he says.
“We will never compromise the service we offer paying passengers but we do intend to broaden our revenue base, and one way of doing that is to focus on long term commercial contracts with the likes of mining and industrial corporations.
“The Greyhound Project team worked closely with BHP Billiton Olympic Dam, located 560 kilometres north of Adelaide, South Australia, to ensure a close philosophical match in the areas of safety, environmental impact, service delivery and brand integrity.
“With the infrastructure Greyhound has built up over more than 100 years, we are in a unique position to supply ground transport services into commercial and industrial applications supported by state of the art safety systems, performance management reporting and compliance tracking systems.”