Article: The needs of bus line Maguire Coaches accelerate as Chinchilla rides ..

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The needs of bus line Maguire Coaches accelerate as Chinchilla rides the mining boom

The needs of bus line Maguire Coaches accelerate as Chinchilla rides the mining boom
John McCarthy
From: The Courier-Mail
July 25, 2012 12:00AM

KAYE Maguire would have been happy with her business if she had been able to grow from one coach to three when she took over her father's school run in Chinchilla more than 20 years ago.

She now has 22 under the Maguire Coaches banner at Chinchilla and is among the booming businesses in the Surat Basin.

First the Kogan Creek Power Station boosted demand for coaches, then coal seam gas took off and Ms Maguire has never looked back.

"It's huge and I don't believe it will level off. We are only just getting into the mid-phase (of CSG development)," she said.

Chinchilla is going through a huge growth spurt because of industry, with several retail developments about to start construction and office space at a premium in the main street.

Housing has also taken off in the town and there have been complaints from locals about the influx of newcomers pushing up rents and prices.

Maguires is benefiting mostly from QGC's gas operations, but also Origin and its demand to move workers around the region.

But it hasn't come easily. Coaches are extraordinarily expensive to buy and Maguires doesn't lease.

The company also has a travel business that contributes about 10 per cent of the earnings. Staffing the business can be difficult and Ms Maguire said applicants had often been very demanding about what they wanted from the job.

Boom magazine, out Friday