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CDC AUSTRALIA BUYS ICONIC QLD BUS OPERATOR: YOUNGS

AFTER MORE THAN 70 years, the owners of iconic Queensland operator Young’s Bus Service have agreed to sell to ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia (CDC), further expanding CDC’s reach into the regional Australia bus market, the parties announced recently.

The Rockhampton-based bus company will complement the portfolio of the CDC Regional Australia division led by CEO Tony Hopkins, which includes CDC’s nearby Gladstone operation, CDC confirms.
The Young family has owned and operated buses in Rockhampton since 1949 and has a proud history of serving the Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast regions of Queensland for more than seventy years, it explains.
In strengthening CDC’s ‘bus footprint’ in Australia, CEO Nicholas Yap confirms the acquisition is a further step in CDC’s expansion into the regional Australian bus market.
“We are excited to bring Young’s Bus Service into the CDC family and look forward to welcoming all of Youngs’ employees into our team and continuing to provide high-quality and customer-centric bus services for the Rockhampton and Capricorn Coast regions,” Yap said.

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PROUD SERVICE

Young’s Bus Service is the largest operator in the Rockhampton region, operating 42 buses from two depots and delivering route, school and charter bus services to the local population.
Subject to government approval, the purchase of Young’s operation will provide a strong platform for the future growth of CDC’s Regional business in the area, CDC explains.
The acquisition will enable CDC to expand its bus operations in Queensland, where it already operates 155 buses, it confirms.
Upon completion of the acquisition, CDC’s bus fleet in Queensland will increase to 197 buses with the total number of buses operated in Australia increasing to close to 2500 buses.
CDC currently operates in six States and Territories in Australia: New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

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A BEAUTIFUL HISTORY

At the time of its recent anniversary, an article published in CQ TODAY by Matthew Pearce titled Still Young After 70 Years beautifully captures a snapshot of the bus company’s storied history.At the time of its 70th anniversary, sons Phil and David Young and their mother, Joan, were partners in the local iconic company, with David seeing to the mechanical aspects of the operation.
As CQ Today reported: “We take our job seriously and aim to … provide a good, reliable and safe service to the public,” Phil said.
Although starting a few years prior, father Stanley Young officially registered the business in November 1949.

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“Through the war years dad used to have a car departing from the post office to take the Americans to the beach,” Phil said.
“He was one of the council’s bus operators, but decided he didn’t like it and after 12 months the opportunity came up to take over the Keppel Sands service.
“His parents grew crops like tomatoes and oranges at Bouldercombe and they wanted him to take that up, but he had other ideas. It was a couple of weeks before they even found out.”
After years of expansion and competition with local trams for business, Young’s had grown from one bus to about 40 vehicles, including some of the most advanced in Australia, it explains.
As the CQ story reports, Young’s believes its most valuable asset was its staff.
“It’s a big task running this business; you can’t do it on your own, you have to rely on your staff and we’ve had some very good staff over the years,” he said.
“Ex-staff members still call in and see us from time to time.”
Some bus drivers have even been around long enough to chauffeur three generations of a family, it explains.
“There isn’t cargo more precious than a human being,” Phil said.

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Photography: courtesy CDC + Young’s Bus Service

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