McGill's Biggest Little Bus Fan Take the Wheel as Mini MD for a Day

Stepping into the role of Mini MD, Jacob experienced the inner workings of the depot and enjoyed a series of activities from across a variety of departments.

McGill’s launched the hunt for their ‘Biggest Little Bus Fan’ back in March 2024, where they received hundreds of entries from parents and guardians nominating children across the west, giving their reasons as to who they believed was McGill’s biggest fan, with Jacob coming out on top.

Jacob was thrilled to explore the depot, learning about bus operations, maintenance and the in-house training academy - even participating in some mock theory tests. His visit included a memorable open-top bus tour and the chance to sit in the driver’s seat of one of his favourite buses, an Enviro 200, with the highlight of the show being the unveiling of a bus named after Jacob himself.

Victoria Taylor, Jacob's mum, expressed her gratitude: “I cannot thank McGill’s and especially the team at Johnstone enough for an amazingly wonderful day. Everyone has gone to so much effort and spent so much time with us explaining and showing us pretty much everything in the depot. Every single person could not have been nicer or kinder.

“When I saw Jacob’s name on the bus, I actually got a bit emotional at the lengths McGill’s had gone to in order to make the day so special.”

Jacob himself shared his excitement of being McGill’s Mini MD for the day. He said: “Thank you to everyone at McGill’s for their time and showing me each area of the depot. My favourite part was going around Johnstone on the open-top bus. I also loved that I got to sit in the driver’s seat of one of my favourite types of buses.”

“I was so surprised and excited to see my name on the front of one of the buses, that was really cool. I also got so much McGill’s merchandise along with tickets to the Monster Truck show!

“It really was the best day ever and I can’t wait to become a bus driver.”

Robert Gibson, operational manager at McGill’s, added: “We were delighted to host Jacob and his family at our Johnstone Depot. Jacob’s passion for buses and his enthusiasm for learning about our operations were truly inspiring, his joy and curiosity were contagious, and it was a pleasure to see him so excited, especially during the open-top bus tour and when he discovered the bus named in his honour. The entire McGill’s team worked hard to make this day special for Jacob and it was a pleasure to present him with McGill’s Biggest Little Bus Fan certificate.”