Vale, Les Pascoe
Les Pascoe, a respected authority on buses in Australia and member of the transport enthusiast community, passed away recently. His friend Paul Nicholson penned the following tribute.
Australia has lost one of its bus enthusiast pioneers, Les Pascoe, who died in Canberra on 14 April 2026 after a long illness. He was 79.
(Photo supplied by Paul Nicholson)
Les was one time editor of Fleetline magazine, and assisted in the production of Transit Australia magazine for many years. He was always very generous with his time and information, and was the author of an early guide to Australian government bus fleets.
Les grew up and studied in the Newcastle area. After qualifying as an accountant, he moved to Canberra where he enjoyed a very successful career in government administration and management. So much so that, after early retirement, he was invited back for a six-week assignment and stayed for ten years.
Les and Kathy married in Canberra in June 1973. He is survived by Kathy, daughter Lynette, son Geoffrey, daughter-in-law Deb, and three grandchildren.
Les had wide transport interests, but his passion was buses, and he was a highly respected authority on the ACTION fleet and operation.
The ACT Bus Team corresponded with Les over the years, and were saddened to learn of his passing. Les was gracious with his time, and assisted us in filling a number of gaps in the fleet history we have compiled over the years in our Fleet Wiki.
Les also supplied numerous historic photos of Canberra buses, which we’ve been able to share through our Gallery and social media pages. We’ve included a selection of these below.
