The Monty Express will initially run twice a week, departing Adelaide on Mondays and Thursdays and returning from Mildura on Tuesdays and Fridays. It operates as an express service with pick-ups at Mildura, Renmark, Adelaide Airport and the Adelaide Central Bus Station.
The route lost its scheduled coach service when Greyhound Australia cancelled its Mildura to Adelaide coaches in 2016, and another operator ceased operations in 2020 during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lone direct flight between the two cities also ended when Rex Airlines terminated the service in May 2023. Since then, travellers from Mildura have faced detours through Ouyen, Horsham or Broken Hill, or more expensive flights via Melbourne or Sydney.
Former Sunraysia resident Stuart Saunders ran a survey six months ago to gauge interest in restoring the service. He said support was overwhelming, and he prepared to pivot from his information technology career to become a bus driver, purchasing the 36-seat bus he named The Monty Express after the family's pet Cavoodle, Monty.
"There's very much a sense of community in the coach industry," he said.
Under a service agreement with the South Australian government, The Monty Express cannot pick up South Australian residents unless they are travelling to Mildura. The arrangement is designed to avoid impacting passenger numbers on the existing Stateliner coach service between the Riverland and Adelaide.
Transport enthusiast Steven Haby, a member of the Bus and Coach Society of Victoria and the Australian Timetable Association, plans to travel from Mildura to Adelaide to experience the first service.