Green Island school was given the opportunity to travel to Bannockburn and around central on school camp for a week. We were very lucky to have our bus driver, Mike Geddes, come along for the week to share his expertise and ensure we got where we needed on time.

Mike was professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable of the area. This made him a valuable part of our camp. He was always ready on time and was exactly where we needed him to be, he ensured the safety of the children and parents and was able to help come up with suggestions for stops when we were unsure.

We would definitely recommend Mike to other schools and will hopefully have the pleasure of seeing him on another camp in the future. Charlotte Ford, Sports Co-ordinator, Green Island School

We had an amazing weekend and I just have to say Mike Geddes was outstanding as our driver. He was so accommodating especially as we weren't able to ski on Saturday - northing was a problem for Mike. We thoroughly appreciated his kindness and obliging nature. The students felt looked after by Mike and he was so lovely with them all. A big thank you. We would love to always have Mike on our Ski trip! Ange Rathbone, Director of Boarding / Teacher, St Hilda's Collegiate School

I have used Ritchies bus company many times for our school trip to the Snow Farm. I have always found them to be reliable and punctual for all trips. Communication has been of a high standard leading up to our trips, and it has been reassuring to know key details were confirmed well in advance. Recently we made requests to have a back-up plan due to the forecast weather, that involved the option to stay in Wanaka if we were unable to get onto the snow farm due to bad weather. Mel the manager was very accommodating and reassured us that they could make our back-up plan work if required. This minimised any stress for us and was much appreciated. We had Mike Geddes as our driver and found him fantastic to deal with. He arrived well in advance of the departure time and gave us ample time to load up and be ready to leave on time. He really seems to enjoy his job, and we enjoyed his friendly manner during our trip. Nothing was never an issue, and he was very accommodating with meeting our needs. I recommend Ritchies as a great bus company. Many thanks. Tracy Ward, Office Administrator, Otago Girls High School

We would just like to say how wonderful our bus trip was, and how accommodating Mike had been with all our drop offs etc. The team had a great day and this wouldn’t have been possible without you! Many thanks and we look forward to using your company again in the future. Michelle Anderson, Performance and Quality Manager, CONOC

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

Special thanks for the bus service, was a great help in getting around forty 21 year olds safely in and out of town. Pass on regards to Larry who helped make it a successful night. Appreciated. Pete and Jill Hogan, Private Charter

Communication: High standard of communication leading up to our trips x3, was reassuring to know key details were confirmed well in advance. Condition of the bus: Perfect size and quality for our needs, modern and spacious, plenty of storage for gear under the cab. Driver attitude: Stu was fantastic to deal with, seemed to really enjoy his trips away and made everyone feel welcome from when he arrived. Nothing was ever an issue. Would love to have Stu on every trip if I could. Punctuality: Always on time!! Well in advance of departure time which gave us ample time to load up and be ready to go and depart on our scheduled time. Thanks. Simon Wallace, Otago Rugby Football Union

. . . who took us to Mount Cook National Park and Tekapo last weekend! He was kind, approachable, and exceptionally helpful when it came to offering advice about how to make our trip as enjoyable and comfortable as possible. Every one of the group of 36 students had only great things to say about Mike - how personable he was, his hospitality and said they felt very safe travelling with him. The executive team agreed that he made the weekend stress free for us - knowing that his expertise and willingness to be of assistance at any point he could, and genuine will to ensure we had the most amazing trip away, meant that we could relax and just enjoy the trip! I cannot thank you enough Mike for the weekend we had with you, and I have already recommended you to another university group wishing to charter a bus later in the year. We are hoping to head to Queenstown in August for our annual ski trip, and would love to have you back again if you’re willing to put up my poor jokes, directional challenge and my “holiday” diet! I look forward to hopefully travelling with you again soon! Again, my warmest regards, from all 36 of us! Joanne Parry, Otago University Dental School

. . . with the arrangements, I was very happy to be communicating with you because you were always so obliging . . . The buses were very comfortable and clean, and both drivers very capable and competent and punctual. Mark asked if we would like to go the top road, and what a treat that was! He also asked if we would like a commentary which everyone agreed to, and we were all very impressed with his knowledge , presentation and humour. Roger was equally as capable and aware that we had a very complete talk the previously day, so was wise in not repeating many things. He presented very well on the Waitati / Port Chalmers side of the habour. Also we did realize that there were restrictions on the hill road, but appreciated him going that extra step for us. Thank you. They were also very patient and helpful as we had 2 of our ladies with leg and ankle injuries requiring extra assistance. So a big tick and thank you to the drivers, well done and appreciated by all. I realise it must be difficult to organise charter trips such as these, but you and the Ritchies company did very very well, and contributed greatly to a most wonderful reunion weekend. Stuart Cameron, Co-Organiser, Massey University Veterinary School Reunion

Just following up on feedback from our recent trip. Communication was great. I felt you were easily contactable and provided the information requested when required. We really appreciate the lengths you went to to make this work with transfers etc. The booking process was straight forward (as it could be in our unique situation). Coach drive Ray (Dunedin) on time, friendly and really helpful with packing, stops etc. He didn't respond to txts but did answer phone calls. Coach driver David (Christchurch) was very particular in his ways. There was confusion of the type of accommodation he was to have but this was soon resolved. He was very professional. Both drivers were very good, safe, professional and on time. The coach itself was great, clean and tidy although we experienced air conditioning failure on our return to Dunedin which made for a very hot and uncomfortable trip from Christchurch. Let me know if you want any further information. Thanks. Monique Grant, St. Hilda's Collegiate School, Head of Physical Education and Health