Greyhound has resumed some services into North Queensland today after Category 5 Cyclone Yasi swept through the region on Thursday morning
February 4, 2011
Greyhound has resumed selected services to North Queensland regions hit by Cyclone Yasi and expects to reopen more routes as soon as flood waters recede in coming days.
Greyhound Australia Chief Executive Officer Robert Thomas says three more coaches would be dispatched from Brisbane today to take evacuated Airlie Beach tourists and residents back to their resorts and homes.
“We have put on extra buses in Queensland to help residents get home and tourists continue their holiday wherever possible,” Thomas says.
Thomas says many of Greyhound’s small business tourism partners had been either severely affected or completely wiped out by Cyclone Yasi.
“Greyhound’s travel, adventure and accommodation partners in areas including Mission Beach, Tully and Cairns have been hit hard by the force of Mother Nature and we will work closely with them to get them back in the saddle again,” he says.
“We will also help local communities and the mining industry return to their bases and start rebuilding after the devastation left by Yasi.”
Thomas says the cleanup is a high priority for affected areas, and Greyhound will be working hard to reinvigorate the tourism industry.
“As one of Australia’s largest backpacker operators, we will be focused on working to get backpackers back to North Queensland.
“We want to help the North Queensland communities get back on their feet as soon as possible and one of the ways to do that is to get their tourism industry humming again.”
Thomas announced this morning that the Brisbane to Airlie Beach service is back in operation with Greyhound transporting a bus load of backpackers from the coastal township of 1770 back to their accommodation.
The Brisbane to Townsville service is also expected to resume today.
The roads between Townsville and Cairns are still closed but Greyhound expects to have services back up and running as soon as the roads reopen.
The Greyhound terminals in Cairns and Townsville are now open and accepting bookings manually as there is still no power.
Greyhound is posting regular service updates on its website www.greyhound.com.au.