Kim quits retirement to become bus driver
WHEN Kim Bell retired from the Territory Police Force after 17 years driving was on her mind, but not behind the wheel of a bus delivering children safely to and from school.
Hitting the road to enjoy a well-earned break was foremost on her mind.
The avid traveller, who has been to Bali “something like 70 times”, has spent the last 20 years learning how to speak Bahasa Indonesian in her spare time.
Ms Bell, a mother and grandmother, came to Darwin in 1972 for a three-week holiday and never left. She enjoyed her retirement, travelling around the South Island of New Zealand, among other things, but when she got home a few months later, felt restless.
The 68-year-old saw an ad for Buslink NT drivers in the paper, and while everyone told her she’d be “too old to find a new job at over 50”, the ad mentioned the lifestyle, hours and opportunities for people of all ages, and she felt it was perfect for her.
Ms Bell was nervous about starting the job when she joined – she only had her car licence – but three weeks later she got the hang of it, thanking trainers for their patience in getting her up to speed.
Her first run was as a special needs driver for a year, which she absolutely loved and then she worked on the United States Marine Corp (USMC) charter team, as well as school bus driving.
Like many others around the country, Ms Bell was nervous about what the COVID-19 pandemic would mean for her safety.
However she jumped at the opportunity to volunteer for international airport transfer work in her role as a driver, which meant taking passengers to quarantine facilities.
“I felt for families and the backlash they would receive coming home from being in the middle of this outbreak,” she said.
“I put myself in their shoes, how I would feel arriving in the country. I felt like I was doing the right thing and was proud to make a difference in the community. When I saw how tightly controlled things were, I forgot any fears.”
Kim has been a bus driver with Buslink NT for the last two years and her “exemplary” efforts during the pandemic have seen her nominated as one of the 14 Outstanding Finalists in the global 2019/2020 Passion Awards run by Buslink’s ultimate parent company, ComfortDelGro Corporation based in Singapore.
Kim says there is only one thing she would like to see in her job.
“More women … I’d love to see more women take to the wheel,” she said.
“This week I chatted to people at Buslink’s driver open day and I told them my age, and how much after 2.5 years, I love my job.
“A lady who looked younger than me, said she couldn’t even get an interview due to her age. I told her, not here.”
Buslink is employing up to 60 new school bus drivers across Darwin, Humpty Doo, Jabiru, and Alice Springs over the next 12 months with 20 positions available immediately.