With Trail Bus you can leave your car at home and be whisked from a central Melbourne location to some of the states most incredible trails. Our experienced guides will take care of the directions while you take in the scenery, with your safety and enjoyment our top priorities.
Our guides have spent countless hours trail running across the state, hand picking the best trails to ensure our tour are beautiful, remote, immersive, challenging and most definitely rewarding.
The emphasis at Trail Bus is on fun on the trails. There will be rest stops along the way to take in the natural beauty as well as plenty of photo opportunities with our guides always close by with a camera.
The final kms will be full of anticipation as we end our runs with a social feed and a few beverages to reminisce of our running adventures and new found trail friends.
What we are
Trail bus is a local Melbourne based trail running tour company that is focussed on safely and sustainably showcasing Victorias impressive, diverse landscapes and communities to visiting and local runners. We aim to uphold and promote Parks Victorias values by contributing to health and resilient parks for current and future generations. Our motto is “Taking you, out, beyond and back”. We offer city transfer options through our fleet of mini buses”.
We want our runners to come away from our tours with a true appreciation and respect for Victoria’s parks, forests and reserves. We aim to teach our runners on the importance of trail safety, minimising environmental impacts and preserving cultural heritage. Trail Bus aims to contribute to ongoing trail use through working with parks to report all hazards, PV resource damage, findings of cultural significance and changes PV assets conditions.
We are committed to sustainability at Trail Bus. We inform all runners on take in/take out policy. Littering will not be tolerated by any Trail Bus participant, with all participants encouraged to safely remove found litter where they can. Environmental risks are managed through our risk assessment process to ensure systematic environmental management improvement continues.
All tours are thoroughly planned with emergency response measures implemented, with risks controlled as low as reasonably possible. We aim to give our runners a positive, educational and lasting Victorian adventure experience with post run food and drink options from collaborative local businesses.
Our Communications
We aim to communicate all aspects and expectations of the tour as true and accurately as possible prior to customer purchase. We use consistent proven information in our in store products, post purchase safety brief, pre-run tour safety brief, risk register, emergency contacts, course maps to inform our customers and potential customers so they can make the most informed decision prior to attending a tour.
Upon purchasing a suitable ability and distance tour, our customers receive a tour specific email including the risk register, a safety brief, emergency contact numbers and GPX and KMZ maps with a recommendation for suitable equipment on the day. Weather shall be monitored and communications will be made to booked runners of any weather specific requirements.
Our Legislation
Tour operations are a regulated industry and Trail Bus is dedicated to as a minimum complying with all regulatory requirements.
Tour operator licences are issued according to the Act the public land is managed under. Public lands include land and waters managed by or on behalf of the Crown. The Crown Land Acts Amendment (Lease and Licence Terms) Act 2009 set a consistent legislative framework across the five public land management Acts:
National Parks Act 1975
Forests Act 1958
Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978
Land Act 1958
Wildlife Act 1975
Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004
Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007
Our Approach
We believe everyone who is into fitness should have access to the outdoors and everyone who likes a challenge should be able to do it in the most beautiful of places.
Running may be free and trails may be numerous but combining the two of them creates barriers for those not initiated to the trail running world. Equipment, safety, and geographical knowledge can stop people from experiencing the beauty of trail running before they ever begin.
That’s why we started Trail Bus. We have removed the barriers and want to help as many people as we can enjoy the great outdoors with their own two feet, and share that stoke with like minded people.
Plus, we just love trail running.
Meet the Team
Who is going to facilitate your next adventure?
Our tour guide run coaches are experienced, knowledgeable, accredited run coaches and guides. They are familiar with all areas ran and have completed our Trail Bus emergency and safety training programs. They are enthusiastic and passionate trail runners focussed on ensuring you get the most out of your Trail Bus experience.
Chris Wright
Tour Operator and Running Coach
Founder and Tour Operator Chris Wright has over 5 years experience running Victorias trails, exploring different locations and mapping on foot. His background is as a Level 2 Advanced Recreational Running coach accredited by Athletics Victoria and has been managing group running events and sessions for over 5 years. Chris has a Diploma in Occupational, Health and Safety, Remote First Aid and CPR qualifications and a Certificate 4 in Training and Assessing. He has worked for over 10 years as a safety systems professional in areas including preparing risk management plans for events and tourism/sports business. These skills have been used to develop robust and effective Safety, Risk and Emergency Management Plans for Trail Bus. All tours consist of full risk based first aid facilities with our guides at all times and further comprehensive first aid facilities located in our buses. He is always excited to get new and old runners exploring, adventuring and challenging themselves amongst Victoria natural beauty.
We also have a great team of experienced group leaders for each trail bus location. They are all fun, friendly and excited to share these amazing trails with you. At any point you need some information simply chat to a guide of call them up on your UHF radio.