We’re only a couple minutes into settling down and beginning our chat about the state of the local bus industry when Carol-Anne Nelson proclaims the future is bright for the sector. It serves as a statement of intent for the new CEO of Victorian operator Ventura Bus Lines and what she’s looking to achieve at the helm of the growing business.
“I think it’s time for bus to shine in Australia,” she told ABC.
“It’s great time to be part of the bus industry – there’s lots of opportunity and plenty happening to improve and expand services while delivering real innovation and excitement.”
In October last year, Carol-Anne was appointed as the new leader of Ventura, taking over from longstanding CEO Andrew Cornwall after serving as a non-executive director on the company’s board since 2024. Supporting her arrival at the major operator is a refreshed leadership team that sees the company reach gender parity at both the executive and board levels.
With goals including sustainability, accessibility and innovation, it’s evident that Carol-Anne’s tenure at the operator will be all about modernising the brand.
“The world is our oyster – there are so many things we can do, so part of my challenge will be staging this in a way that makes sense so that we can sustain it as a business,” she says.
“It’s been a fantastic change to go from being on the board to moving towards daily operations and working closely with staff, customers and stakeholders.
“Ventura’s commitment to safety, service and community engagement aligns strongly with my experience and values, and I look forward to continuing to grow the business for the benefit of Melbourne and Victoria.”
Carol-Anne brings a wealth of transport experience to the role, having held various executive roles at a range of state government departments and companies. This includes serving as deputy secretary at Transport for NSW and chief operating officer and chief customer officer at V/Line between 2014 and 2018.
It means the sheer volume of Ventura’s standing in the industry doesn’t come as a surprise. The Victorian operator first founded by the Cornwall family has been moving Victorians for more than a century, and now carries 42 million passengers each year on 950 vehicles, equating to a 33 per cent market share of the state’s public bus services. This juggernaut is run by 1,800 local team members and a workforce that represents 59 countries.
Fortunately, Carol-Anne’s experience working with government and on both bus and rail has set her up for success at Ventura.
“I do always think of myself as being part of the public transport industry – while my responsibility is to be a leader at Ventura, there’s also a responsibility to be part of the industry,” she says.
“My experience working in public transport is long, having worked on rail, tram and bus across Queensland, NSW and Victoria. The nice part of being at a business like Ventura that’s so agile is that we can be a leader and pilot new ideas to make the industry better as a whole.
“We want to create good quality public transport that takes more cars off roads and provides access to more people who may not have been able to use our services. It couldn’t come at a more important time for Melbourne when the city is growing so fast.”
For Carol-Anne, nothing beats the rewarding feeling of a day’s work in the public transport sector. She refers to it as an industry where you can arrive home at the end of each day and realise the lives of many have been made better through this high-quality access.
Carol-Anne’s job is to combine this modern public transport passion with a century of operations and the ongoing history of Ventura. Over time, she says Ventura has always invested in its people, innovation and technology to lead the way. She’s not planning on changing this model anytime soon.
In recent years, the company has taken on a new look, as Ventura was first acquired by Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT) in 2024 before it sold 25 per cent of its stake to Samsung Asset Management in June 2025. Using this global expertise, Carol-Anne says Ventura has the opportunity to utilise international best practice for local solutions. A major part of this will be sustainability.
“Sustainability is integral to our strategy – every new bus, depot and technician plays a role in fostering cleaner, greener and more dependable journeys. We’re backed by Keppel, a global leader in sustainability and intelligent design, so together we can provide solutions that are world-class and show we care,” she says.
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“The opportunity moving forward with a new ownership structure is that we can now take the experience of a global business backing us and apply it firstly to Melbourne’s south-east for the benefit of local people.
“We can then spread from there and benefit the entire Australian public transport sector. My job is to work with our staff, passengers and stakeholders to ensure this pace of change is sustainable, but the industry should still expect to see some innovations on the way from Ventura in the near future.
“People will see some new ideas coming from us in the next little period – our innovation is fully integrated, we invest in advanced technology, safety, sustainability and job creation to establish a transport network that is more accessible and prepared for the future. We’re lucky to have a fantastic team around us that brings experience, knowledge and contacts.
“We want to create a sustainable public transport system that drives patronage, we want to be right out the front creating opportunities for all.”
A defining feature of Carol-Anne’s start to her tenure is her partnership with Andrew Cornwall. As a doyen of the Victorian bus industry through his three decades spent at the helm of Ventura, Cornwall has stayed on as a senior adviser.
Already, this has paid off for Carol-Anne and the new leadership team as he’s remained generous with growing Ventura.
“It’s fantastic how helpful he has been – he epitomises the industry we want to work in, which is one where people share insights and pull collectively to achieve great outcomes,” she says.
“It’s wonderful working with someone who has such rich experience and is passing his knowledge on. Luckily, he’s also very open to us doing it our own way – we’ve always tried to push the boundaries and he encourages that, as do all senior members at the business.”
Cornwall’s introductions across Ventura’s various depots and teams has ensured Carol-Anne’s arrival isn’t upsetting the apple cart. Instead, it’s given her the opportunity to maintain that positive approach towards the industry that she first greeted me with. It could serve as the catalyst for rapid evolution in the Australian bus industry.
“It’ll be fun – we’re looking at doing some exciting things around accessibility, sustainability and technology,” she says.
“We look at other jurisdictions for inspiration – look at the bus industry 10 years ago and how unrecognisable it is now. If we get that same level of change, it’s exciting to picture what we may be able to do for the bus industry moving forward. It’s why it’s now bus’ time to shine.”
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