Driver George Kandris retires from Activus Transport after 28 years

Mr Kandris was a driver for Activus Transport, formerly known as Sutherland Shire Community Transport, first as a volunteer from 1993 and then as a paid worker from 1995.

The Caringbah resident, aged 64, said he would spend his retirement travelling around Australia and Europe with his wife.

"I really enjoyed working with Activus, they were really nice people to work for, that's why I stuck it out for so long," Mr Kandris told the Leader.

When he hung up his keys the fleet consisted of over 15 cars and a handful of buses, but when he began as a volunteer he was their only driver and there was only one vehicle in the fleet.

He said he would miss the people he drove around, taking them to hairdresser and doctor appointments. The majority were older, aged 60 to 100 years.

"I made a lot of good friends over the years. I learnt a lot of different ailments that people had," he laughed.

Some people he drove every second day for over a decade to see their husbands or wives in nursing homes and formed strong bonds with them during the commute.

"The sad bit is you get to know them over the years and sometimes they pass on, you get attached to them, and then you lose them," Mr Kandris said.

Stephanie McCamley, Assistant General Manager at Activus Transport, said "gorgeous George" was "one of our most loved drivers and will be sadly missed by staff, volunteers and customers".

"George is one of those truly humble people that puts his customers first and goes out of his way to make their journey memorable," Ms McCamley said.

"Our customers are always requesting him as their driver and they have expressed that they will sincerely miss him. Some of our customers are very socially isolated and to be able to have a chat to someone who takes the time to listen and who really cares makes all the difference in the world to them."

Mr Kandris would be happy to come back on board as a volunteer some day, "when I get bored or my wife wants me to get out of the house," he laughed.