Bundaberg Coaches has welcomed unique BLK models to its expanding fleet.

For many Australians, Bundaberg is an iconic place. As home to the popular rum distillery and brand of beverages, the town north of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast is a household name. It’s not just the well-known label that is now making Bundaberg a popular stop for many travelling through Queensland’s north. For more than half a century, Bundaberg Coaches has been a touring giant in the area, providing a crucial link to the breathtaking countryside, stunning greenery and pristine beaches that encapsulate the region. “I bought the business in 2011 from Mick and Carol Foley they had developed a really strong touring following in the area,” Bundaberg Coaches director Jason Beresford told ABC. “The Foleys had scaled it back from several to-tow vehicles to make it more manageable to sell, and I’ve slowly grown over time.” The Beresford name is now driving the historic operator forward in north Queensland.

The Burgess family initially established the business in 1972 before the Foleys took over roughly a decade later. Now, the Beresford leadership has seen Bundaberg Coaches further enhance its reputation in the region while driving the charter and mining sides of the enterprise. The latter is a particular source of growth for the business – while Bundaberg Coaches has always been synonymous with tour and charter trips in the area, the mining transport avenue is allowing the popular local business to add more strings to its bow. “We have steadily expanded into the mining game, starting with a contract we won to run vehicles to and from Middlemount Coal Mine,” Beresford says. “We permanently run two buses from the mine site to the camp, while we also run two return services a week from Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Mackay to the camp and mine site.” On top of this, Bundaberg Coaches has also secured a contract to run services at Rolleston Mine near Emerald. It’s resulted in the most diverse operations to date for the ongoing transport operator. With these various requirements comes the need to buy unique and tailor-made vehicles. This is where BLK comes in. Since emerging in the Australian market in 2006, BLK Auto Bus & Coach Sales has emerged as one of the leading luxury bus and coach suppliers to the local industry. With Bundaberg Coaches currently completing tour and charter, mining transfer and rail replacement runs in its daily operations, the operator has trialled its fair share of bus brands. It has landed on BLK as its supplier of choice on its latest delivery of two 14.5m coaches.

“The idea behind these coaches was that we didn’t previously have vehicles that were specifically tailored to certain tasks in our operations,” Beresford says. “We needed vehicles that we could trust to go to mines one week and then complete rail work or school charter or tours elsewhere the next. “We decided to go to BLK for this – they are the third and fourth deliveries from the brand into my fleet, with the previous models having performed really well to date.” The recent delivery of two BLK President 3 coaches join the Bundaberg Coaches fleet, ready to complete a range of runs. However, these models aren’t your usual buses. Instead, Beresford has worked with BLK to produce two unique vehicles that differ from a standard three-axle coach. “We’ve spec’d these coaches in a luxury style – I call it a charter spec, as it includes longer range due to extra fuel,” he says. “We’ve added large fuel tanks into the design and we’ve introduced new diamond stitched leather seats to create a more upmarket look. Then throw in the standard stuff – a bullbar, driver lights and USB charging built into the seats.” The two coaches, which are also trialling Starlink to allow for streaming and Wi-Fi for passengers, have been designed to ideally fit the demands of running to and from Roleston Mine and Middlemount. “When we run out to these two mines, we do go through black spots, so Starlink will allow us to remain in communication with the vehicles too,” Beresford says. “We made sure we have also included the biggest motor that we can get to provide the largest amount of fuel possible. They are very nice vehicles.” During the build process of the BLK President 3 vehicles, Beresford sourced two used vehicles as a “stop gap” which will now continue to be used in the mining and charter and tour operations. “I always liked to have at least four buses in the yard at all times, as it meant we could cover the majority of our charter work, but now it’s more like 12 in the yard,” he says. “We’re doing more work for new customers and our charter side is continuing to grow, while our mining operations are steady.”

The coaches will complete a variety of jobs, from mines to the snow.

The two BLK Presidents signal a change for the operator. The delivery is the first time Beresford has sat down and designed two vehicles specifically suited to the mining task. While they follow in the suit of previous buses and coaches that can handle a variety of long distance transfer operations, these BLK Presidents can also be put to use when Bundaberg Coaches completes contract work for Queensland Rail replacement services. “We handle all the breakdown and rail replacement work for the local area, and it requires us to have wheelchair accessible vehicles,” he says. “That’s just one of many specs that we needed in these vehicles, which BLK helped us out with.” On the BLK side, the two President coaches join a duo of Senator 8 models at 37 and 33 seats respectively that the supplier first delivered to Bundaberg Coaches.

On this latest delivery, BLK sales and special projects manager David Jiear says the company was keen on ensuring every detail of the unique coaches was spot on for Beresford’s team. The specifications of the President 3 coach consist of the usual in a vehicle of this calibre, such as a rear toilet and wheelchair loader over the rear axle so not to encroach over the rear bin space, with the other options added by Beresford including driving lights and a larger fuel tank of 800 litre. The success in all of this, along with the X12 engine and steerable tag axle with the modest tare weight, is that it provides peace of mind when refuelling and loading the large luggage bin area. All of this is giving Jason and the Bundaberg team the perfect coaches for their operations. Another key factor in BLK’s design that piqued Beresford’s interest was the brand’s use of all-American running gear. With the Cummins X12 engine being joined by an Allison transmission, Beresford says the American running gear is durable and efficient.

The Sege diamond stitching pattern seats is a stand-out with the interior.

“These new models have already started working – one has done a mine run while the other has gone to the snow in Canberra,” Beresford says. “The first runs are showing really good fuel effi ciency, but we’ll continue looking at the data to see just how effi cient they are. “We always like to use the Allison and Cummins combination, as we think they work very well together. We have a good relationship with both companies and we get great local support from them.” These latest unique deliveries are a highlight of a productive year for BLK. Whether it be school buses, charter vehicles or mining coaches, BLK has seen its order bank grow in 2025. “Traditionally, our President 2 model has been our bread and butter coach, but we’ve also seen an increasing interest in our smaller President 10 model and our 14.5m President 3 that Bundaberg Coaches has received,” Jiear says. “We’re continuing to expand off the back of this – we’ve put on more staff throughout the business and have expanded our sales and aft ersales presence around the country.

We have also grown our parts operation to have nearly $2 million in parts stock for a wide range of manufacturers. “There’s a mix of vehicles we’re pushing through currently, and we’re also looking at what we will introduce at next year’s bus expo. It’s busy times for BLK.” Despite the hectic nature of business for the brand, Beresford is grateful that BLK was still able to sit down with him and produce two ideal coaches for Bundaberg Coaches. One of the deliveries will continue working a “pretty demanding run” on rotation to and from Roleston Mine, while theother model will join the 15-bus fleet to complete a wide range of tour a ndcharter activities. Much like BLK, Bundaberg Coaches is continuing to experience a boom in demand. With meticulously designed vehicles like the two unique BLKs, Beresford is confident that Bundaberg and BLK can continue forging a strong reputation in Queensland. “We’re looking to continue enhancing our charter capabilities – our distance to Brisbane sets us up as an ideal long-distance operator,” he says. “I have faith that these vehicles will continue working well, which will allow us to offer leading travel options for passengers in the region.”