Private Observations 2019

[BroadGauge]

What I would have liked to have seen is perhaps an Opal rollout or a better ticketing system. The current system is tedious.

The obvious solution for Tweed Heads would be for Go Card to be accepted there, even if the fares are different to the QLD side of the border (perhaps there could be a transfer discount between the two systems, much like how Opal has between modes? ), given that it's a de-facto part of the Gold Coast that happens to be in NSW.

But I can only imagine that happening when the time on the clock is the same in both Tweed Heads and Coolangatta year round, which I can't see happening any time soon!

[Campbelltown busboy]

The obvious solution for Tweed Heads would be for Go Card to be accepted there, even if the fares are different to the QLD side of the border (perhaps there could be a transfer discount between the two systems, much like how Opal has between modes? ), given that it's a de-facto part of the Gold Coast that happens to be in NSW.

But I can only imagine that happening when the time on the clock is the same in both Tweed Heads and Coolangatta year round, which I can't see happening any time soon!

Wouldn't that mean that some sort of deal would have to be made between Transport For NSW (opal) and TransLink (Go Card) for your multi system transfer idea to work

[BroadGauge]

Wouldn't that mean that some sort of deal would have to be made between Transport For NSW (opal) and TransLink (Go Card) for your multi system transfer idea to work

Well clearly. It would seem more logical for services in Tweed Heads to be integrated with the urban area that it's conjoined with across an administrative border (aka state boundary), then with the city 800km to the south which it has very little in common with, aside from falling under the same state as it.

[boronia]

If the Americans can buy up whole countries to annex them into the USA, maybe Qld could buy up that north-eastern section of NSW and annex it. It is ridiculous that the main street of a large town has different town names and laws on opposite sides of the main street.

[tonyp]

If Europeans can operate tram systems that serve two different countries surely it can't be too hard for us to organise services crossing two different states.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_ ... tzplan.png

[Campbelltown busboy]

If Europeans can operate tram systems that serve two different countries surely it can't be too hard for us to organise services crossing two different states.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_ ... tzplan.png

If the EU have a transport travel smart card that can used for travel between countries within Europe with fares that are set by the EU then that's easier then having two Australian states that have two totally different fare structure systems witch could be fixed if there was a Australian national transport travel smart card with a fare structure system that is set by the federal government

[tonyp]

I thought those European cards are for rail travel. In terms of city transport I think the fare system is handled at city level. In that example of Gorlitz I think the German operator controls all the fare collection etc and I imagine the city authorities on the Polish side possibly charge the Ggerman operator a fee for running across the border (or maybe, conversely, they pay the German city a fee for running a public transport service on their side, which saves them the cost of doing so themselves).

[swtt]

There is something called contactless....

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[J_Busworth]

Actually, maybe contactless would be good idea. Does QLD have any plans to introduce it on their Go Card system?

[joshurandazzo]

Sorry to bother anyone but does anyone have a date of when the leichhardt O 405NHs will be all withdrawn?

[J_Busworth]

Sorry to bother anyone but does anyone have a date of when the leichhardt O 405NHs will be all withdrawn?

L appears to be withdrawing their Merc O405NHs at a much slower rate than STA is. DO we know if they have been re-certified on their gas canisters, or are they headed for an early retirement like the STA units?

[moa999]

I'd assume also there will be a massive redistribution of buses come April 2020 when the post-CSELR network starts.

[Fleet Lists]

What does that have to do with "private operators"?

[moa999]

What does that have to do with "private operators"?

Well that's a distinction that may not exist for much longer.

And I'd think the government can send it's fully owned buses, many of which are already with private operators, wherever it wants.

There will undoubtedly be a lesser number of buses needed in the east after CSELR opens, so they can be distributed to other regions, whether for growth, or retirement replacement.

[Fleet Lists]

The buses with private operators leased from TFNSW are specked to the requirements of the operators concerned and are specifically allocated to those operators as specified in their contracts unlike for instance Perth where buses can be moved between the private operators. Of course this could change under the new contracts.

So at this point in time it has nothing to do with private operators.

I suspect the TfNW wil keep those buses in the STA regions to make the fleet there more attractive for potential bidders.

[Bus Suggestions]

At this point in Perth, buses are built to specifications of the government and originally arranged into batches of 100 per operator. The operator can send a bus to whatever depot it holds in its contract area or another area which they hold. If a contract area is to be taken over (as will happen to Joondalup next year), the buses based in said contract area will be transferred to the incoming operator. Often with contract movements, the buses will then be separated into rough and unspecified batches, such as per 100, 43 are one operator, 37 are another and the remaining 20 are another. Nothing to do directly with NSW however, so apologies if this is considered off-topic (I just wished to provide expansion).

[Campbelltown busboy]

At this point in Perth, buses are built to specifications of the government and originally arranged into batches of 100 per operator. The operator can send a bus to whatever depot it holds in its contract area or another area which they hold. If a contract area is to be taken over (as will happen to Joondalup next year), the buses based in said contract area will be transferred to the incoming operator. Often with contract movements, the buses will then be separated into rough and unspecified batches, such as per 100, 43 are one operator, 37 are another and the remaining 20 are another. Nothing to do directly with NSW however, so apologies if this is considered off-topic (I just wished to provide expansion).

Transport For NSW does allow the operator alter the layout of buses witch normally includes things like single leaf centre door over double leaf centre door vinyl covered seats over cloth covered seats and openable hopper windows over filly sealed windows witch most Transport For NSW SMBSC contracted operators opt for the single leaf centre door option where only 2 of those those operators (Busways and Punchbowl Bus Co) also opt for the vinyl seats and hopper windows

[Benk20]

TSA R6 8101 (K) and 2808 (L) are both Christmas buses spotted at Railway Square.

[tonyp]

Transport For NSW does allow the operator alter the layout of buses witch normally includes things like single leaf centre door over double leaf centre door vinyl covered seats over cloth covered seats and openable hopper windows over filly sealed windows witch most Transport For NSW SMBSC contracted operators opt for the single leaf centre door option where only 2 of those those operators (Busways and Punchbowl Bus Co) also opt for the vinyl seats and hopper windows

I still can't understand how operators on SMBSC can get away with single leaf doors on very busy operations (over three times the bus patronage of Perth where PTA considers double-leaf doors necessary metropolis-wide), yet a country operator in Nowra is required to have three double-leaf doors on an artic. Completely topsy turvey. (Mind you, I understand even less how UK, a country with a population of 66 million, can operate single-door commuter buses. Let's hope they don't have any influence over here. Oh, wait...)

[Swift]

What's the Busways empire doing with their 0405s of late?
I was surprised to hear the raucous roar of a naturally aspirated model whizz by my place in Ettalong at 7:30am this morning. I have only heard the comparatively unexciting mildly forced induction models of late. Some on route service.

[Campbelltown busboy]

Transport For NSW does allow the operator alter the layout of buses witch normally includes things like single leaf centre door over double leaf centre door vinyl covered seats over cloth covered seats and openable hopper windows over filly sealed windows witch most Transport For NSW SMBSC contracted operators opt for the single leaf centre door option where only 2 of those those operators (Busways and Punchbowl Bus Co) also opt for the vinyl seats and hopper windows

I still can't understand how operators on SMBSC can get away with single leaf doors on very busy operations (over three times the bus patronage of Perth where PTA considers double-leaf doors necessary metropolis-wide), yet a country operator in Nowra is required to have three double-leaf doors on an artic. Completely topsy turvey. (Mind you, I understand even less how UK, a country with a population of 66 million, can operate single-door commuter buses. Let's hope they don't have any influence over here. Oh, wait...)

Plus there is a certain Gold Coast based body builder that has hasn't had a major body design overhaul since the release of the their then new VST body 16 years ago witch is the same design then they use body on their Cummins powered in-house built chassis (XDI and MDI)

[Bus Suggestions]

^^Must be Australia's award winning manufacturer of unreasonable windowlines...

[tonyp]

^^Must be Australia's award winning manufacturer of unreasonable windowlines...

and nostalgic yesteryear door steps.

[tonyp]

I don't know whether this BusNSW history video has found its way onto this forum, but it is interesting viewing, including a lot of familiar buses and personalities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yepMxzYloQQ

[Linto63]

Mind you, I understand even less how UK, a country with a population of 66 million, can operate single-door commuter buses.

Full size London buses are double door, yet when large, experienced operators such as Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead, Stagecoach and Transdev cascade them to their regional operations, they always go to the effort of removing the rear door, so there must be something in it.