From the start of the pandemic to when it was at its worst, these bus drivers put their own safety at risk and continued to drive their routes every day to ensure people got where they needed to go, even through the harshest of lockdowns when those without transport had no other option to shop for necessities.

CDC Ballarat bus driver Gurmej Singh said himself and other drivers took pride in helping the community.

"A lot of people would say, 'you guys get paid for a job that you do', but we really do take pride in our job and what we do," he said.

"It's about looking after the older ones, all the wonderful ones, we say.

"For example, they have to go shopping and they have nobody to take them. That's when we come in handy."

However, Mr Singh said the health and safety of himself and his family was still front of mind.

"We care about our family and our health as well, but it's something that, as a community member, we all have to be responsible for, so we do take pride in that and that's why we do it," he said.

"Health-wise, everybody was really worried about how it was going to affect their family if they contracted the virus.

"It was there in the back of our heads, what if we contract the virus and take it to our children or wives? At the end of the day, we had to do it because serving the community, that's what it is all about."

Mr Singh took his role in the community a step further, reaching out to some residents by dropping notes in their letterbox offering his help if they needed anything.

"Some of the people we regularly get on the buses and somehow we know where they live, so we personally approached them through the letterboxes, just left a little note saying, 'this is my mobile number, just let us know if you need to need something, and we're happy to help you out'," he said.

"When I'm driving past the houses and I'm thinking about them, I thinking they're probably stuck inside, can't really go anywhere because we're in the middle of lockdown and they need a milk or bread or anything they really need, so how can they get it?

"I thought I would leave my number just in case, if they are really in some sort of emergency, I can somehow approach them."

Mr Singh, who is also the acting president of Sikh community group Dhan Shri Guru Nanak Incorporated, said he learnt about the importance of caring for his community from his parents.

"I grew up watching them and they said if you do things for the community and then somehow you get that back, so it's actually in my heart, it's in my blood and I thought I'll carry that same thing, doing for the community, as long as I'm alive. That makes me feel better or happy and I take pride in that," he said.

"In the past, I've actually needed help so all I had to do was pick up a phone, ring somebody and they were on the doorstep. This is the thing that I grew up watching my parents do and then I wanted to continue the same way.

"It doesn't matter in which way. We had COVID-19 happen so approaching someone for whatever necessities they have, that's the obvious community thing."