I catch the Concord bus every now and then and I would like to pass on just how friendly and helpful the drivers on this route are. I’ve had a couple of very negative experiences with another route (which I refuse to use now because of this) and when you don’t catch the bus that often, it can be a bit daunting with all that needs to be done (mask, tagging on and off and contact tracing). I have heard several people mention how it makes them anxious, so the driver’s attitude is very important. The driver (Gregory Dean) of the Concord route after work is amazing. He greets each customer and helps them with the tagging on (especially when the unit doesn’t read immediately). He is always happy and totally goes out of his way to help his passengers. Same goes for the driver (Murray Stevenson) in charge of the Concord to the Hub first thing in the morning. He greets us all as we get on and I watched how mindful he is of his passengers’ safety (as is our 5.30pm driver). This morning he had to stop to let some younger kids off at the stop near Moana Pool and due to the heavy traffic, he couldn’t get the bus completely on the stop (totally the fault of a bad car driver, providing no wiggle room for the bus driver). The kids would’ve been ok exiting the back, but being totally aware of their safety, asked them to disembark from the front. I was very impressed. Well done guys!!! Many thanks - Feedback to Abbey Chamberlain, Implementation Advisor, Transport, Otago Regional Council