busnews.com.au April 2018 ABC^35Eco Warriors
In 2016 FOF won the prestigious Steve Irwin award
for eco tourism, achieving climate action leader
status which only 12 companies within Australia
have achieved. FOF is a unique coach company
whose tours are tailored to different ‘fitness levels’
for customers, as well as has ‘hidden secret’ extra VIP
suprises for them.
Toni Brennan says the company started in August,
2002, when she was based in Yepoon, Central
Queensland, setting up holiday packages for hotel
guests where she originally worked as a receptionist.
With past customers calling from Brisbane to ask her
to put together packages, she thought, ‘Why not?’
As the business grew, FOF contacted third-party
operators as it didn’t even have a bus at this stage,
but it found the quality from these operators just
wasn’t there.
“We just found it very hard to rely on the quality
of coaches and drivers to represent our brand. I was
very focused on being elegant and providing quality
service. To me presentation is everything, I knew what
I expected and I wasn’t getting it,” she said.
Brennan says FOF is different because, “We care.
We offer all-inclusive tours – tell us what you want
and we do the rest. A lot of companies overpromise
and underdeliver; our recipe for success is to have a
few hidden secrets – free welcome drinks, a suprise
comedy show – so you get more than you expected!”
“We sponsor the Man from Snowy River Bush
Festival, which attracts 5000-7000 people, and we
have exclusive use of a marquee, so our travellers feel
very special.
“At Opera in the Vineyard at Bulladeen and the
Elvis festival, we have the very front row [for our
guests]. We do pay extra for that privilege but the
difference goes to charity.
“It’s all those things that we deliver but don’t
advertise that makes all the difference.”
“We also have a programme called Our People Our
Planet, where we donate $10 from every passenger
into a green bank.
“Every time we travel to a region we donate to
conservation projects within the region like the Royal
Flying Doctor service and the Great Barrier Reef.
“We have tours were we do plantings, rejuvenation
and conservation work – everyone gets a T-shirt and
cap with a “Being Seen Being Green” logo on it and
gets really involved.This began a time-consuming
process to achieve Toni’s vision for
the new coach.
“We thought it just wasn’t going
to happen but Irizar suggested that
we go for a wrap – a totally new
thing for luxury coaches. We went to
Melbourne and met three different
companies Irizar had suggested.
“The company we chose do great
work – Exotic Graphix in Carrum
Downs. I was impressed from the
moment I walked into the office.
“There were lots of
recommendations on the wall and
I could see that they do the police
cars. They told us they had done
normal buses, but nothing like
what we wanted – there were a lot
of things to consider because of
reflectiveness and keeping within
the laws. When the sun hits it looks
amazing!” he explained.
BRAZIL TO HOME
As Archibald explains: “The body
was made in Brazil. The chassis
leaves Volvo in Sweden as a
shortened version and it goes to the
factory in Brazil where it gets cut
and lengthened to the customer’s
specs – in this case 13.5m – then
they put the body on. After that it
comes to Australia with a body as
a shell with just the overheads and
flooring but no seats”.
“When it arrived here Styleride did
the leather seating. We had spoken
with them at a bus show in Sydney
and told them what we wanted. We
were restricted in seat size by the
ADRs (Australian Design Rules); we
could only go 50mm wider and you
are restricted by the recline.
“In other countries they don’t have
the same safety restrictions. We
did the best we could within the
regulations. We wanted a seat that
was a similar experience to sitting in
business class on a plane and I think
we have achieved that. We have
arm rests on both sides for extra
comfort and incredible legroom.”
“We are impressed with the Volvo,
but we got it by default. We were
going for a Scania but they had a
delay getting the chassis to Brazil to
get the coach delivered on time. Full
credit to Scania, though, they did
everything they could worldwide to
meet our specs.
“Daniel Castro from Irizar said
he had two Volvos ready to go in
Brazil. I’d never had a Volvo, but the
I-Shift is great with 450 horses. I like