Meet Del Cole: Bus-driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur
WOW Australia is setting up shop in Charleville this week, for the first of our two Western Queensland events. And there will be a coach of women from the city heading out to see how they do it in the West.
When we first had the idea of a road trip, as with all things WOW we wanted to find a woman-owned business. We happened upon Mount Gravatt Coach and Travel, and found much more than we bargained for.
Meet Del Cole, bus driver, bus company owner, entrepreneur, advocate and charity powerhouse. Five foot tall and invincible, this tiny powerhouse has a remarkable story.
Del Cole (centre) with WOW Australia team Cathy Hunt (left) and Julie Baikie (right)
She first began driving buses in 1974. Her husband Les was working for Goodyear, but with four children including a small baby, money was tight and Del started looking around to see what she could do. As many working mothers know, it can be a challenge finding work to suit the demands of juggling childcare for school-aged children.
A school bus came up for sale and Del decided to go for it.
“My husband and father were horrified, because women didn’t do that! But they were easy enough to persuade, I just sort of put the foot down. Then I went to Garden City to the Commonwealth Bank along with a letter of recommendation for the banks. And we were really good clients, they’d said to us, any time you need any money, come see us. So I went in full of confidence and asked for three and a half thousand dollars to buy the school bus and start the Queensland Education Department contract, and they laughed me out of the bank.
“Mr Watson, the accountant, said it wasn't Commonwealth Bank policy to lend money to women or business. They were too risky. So I don't know whether I looked cranky or I cried a bit like a woman, but he tried to pacify me and I can clearly remember, he said, ‘But it's all right, dear. If your husband wants a new tinny or a set of golf clubs, send him back and we'll give him the money’.
“I went back to my mum in Holland Park, and said that wouldn’t give me the money. My mum was brought up with four brothers, so she said, get out there, go and do your thing. So I did. I went to all the other banks until I got the money in the end. So we got the money for the bus.”
Del brought her kids with her, dropping the older ones at school, and the baby in a metal bassinet under the front seat. She found that, as a prior music teacher and a mother who was used to wrangling kids, she was ready for their tricks.
“I had to learn how to drive the crunch box bus, which is no mean feat. But the worst thing about the school bus driving is you have to control the kids. You have two class loads of children under your care. You know, a teacher has 30 students, bus drivers, 60 plus. And you have to drive the bus as well!”
The old buses were unforgiving machines. Before the days of power steering, and adjustable seat height, the pint-sized Del had to drive with a brick under her left foot so she could hoist the old bus round the corner! But she had the bus and the kids under control, and she started seeing a lot more kids coming out.
“I hadn't realized that mothers weren’t sending the children on the school bus because they didn't have the confidence in the male driver prior to me, because the kids used to laugh about how they could give him heaps, and he didn't know how to handle their misbehavior. But being a mother of four, I was quite familiar with the little tricks or whatever. It didn't worry me and the kids were really, you know, naughty but good. So once I had them all under control, these children started coming out of the woodwork left, right and center. So within a month or two months, I needed a second bus.
Her first hire was Jane, who was also a mum of five.
Ground-breaking in many ways, Del also was very influential in changing policy in the industry. Archaic laws that determined the cutoff for when children could no longer catch the school bus meant that some families would see older siblings forced off. She also worked with schools when other companies cut off routes due to being unprofitable. When Queensland introduced bus driver accreditation – the first state in the country to do so – not just the first woman, Del was the first driver in Australia to become accredited, and helped direct the policy changes in the 80’s when the Queensland Government realized it needed to be more proactive about making sure that drivers had to pass criminal checks, and regular accreditation and other safety innovations.
“I started dealing with the Transport Department and that was a big shock to their system at the time. They’d try to tell me, yes, yes, we hear you, dear. I hadn't realized until many years later that down the valley where with Transport Department was at Brunswick Street, I was known as ‘that woman from Burbank’. But I ended up making many great friends in there. Especially once they accepted that, yes, I was a woman, but I knew what I was talking about. I gained the respect of a lot of people in the industry just by being strong, being firm, being polite and approaching it in a friendly but determined manner.”
On the side of running her bus company, she runs a charity called Someone Who Cares. Thirteen years ago while traveling with her sister-in-law dentist, they were shocked by the lack of supplies available in surgeries. So she started her charity, which collects excess hospital equipment such as dental supplies, walking aids for children and a whole range of excess or superfluous stock which she then ships off to PNG, the Solomons, Timor Leste and Fiji. Charity, and highlighting the courage and success of others, is a core value of Mount Gravatt Coach & Travel.
WOW Australia will be travelling on the ‘Turia’, named after the bestselling author, two-time Ironman and humanitarian Turia Pitt. Each of the coaches has its own name, many of which were named by school children in the early days, and these days are often named after inspirational Australians. You can read all the stories behind the bus names on their website.
“Personalized service. It's not just business, it's a lifestyle, it's a passion, and being able to help people is it's my passion. I don't necessarily get a lot of thanks in this world, but I know the good that I have done for other people and that's what keeps me going. And this is why I've now handed over my passion to my general manager and all my wonderful staff. And they have the same outlook as I do. It's still a big family business and everybody is part of the family.”
And to other women looking to drive buses?
“Wonderful job for a woman. I think a woman has more rapport with children, has a different way of negotiating with naughty kids, as a mother, you know. The majority of our drivers are men, but they bring a different skillset.”
