Private Bus Observations 2020

[Stonesourscotty]

Busways 1113 and 1300 have gained New Carcity allover liveries they where previously in another carcity adverts but got removed forr a few days before a new one was applied in new colours.

[Linto63]

There is one surviving local builder, Custom, that they support with some orders but the rest go interstate and overseas.

While not as many as Bustech or Volgren, Custom has bodied buses in reasonable numbers for State Transit and Transit Systems.

t's unbelievable that they saw off Volgren which actually established a factory in NSW, then had to abandon it because it got no more orders.

The Tomago plant opened in 2009 at a time when large orders were expected as part of Labor's 1,000 growth buses project, After the project was curtailed by the incoming Liberal government, these orders were not forthcoming. Volgren was also on the market at the time, so the Tomago plant have fallen victim to the need to fatten up the lamb before sending it to market.

Why can't we do what they do in other states and since we have a bigger bus market, get Volgren to re-establish here and divide the orders between two NSW manufacturers. It's shameful.

Because it is a competitive marketplace, having a monopoly / duopoly isn't good business.

[tonyp]

Nonetheless, NSW is the only state not encouraging its own bus industry.

[Campbelltown busboy]

The Tomago plant opened in 2009 at a time when large orders were expected as part of Labor's 1,000 growth buses project, After the project was curtailed by the incoming Liberal government, these orders were not forthcoming. Volgren was also on the market at the time, so the Tomago plant have fallen victim to the need to fatten up the lamb before sending it to market.

That 2009 labor 1,000 growth bus project might have been the reason why Custom Coaches had to upsize from the Smithfield site that they were based in for years to that bigger site in Villawood

[Swift]

It seems being dependent on government orders and having a Liberal government get in is a pattern that has repeated itself. Look what happened to P M.C in 1991 after cuts obsessed Nicholas Greiner got in and discontinued orders after the final Mercedes 0405 and MAN SL202 batches were fulfilled from an order made by our great Wran Unsworth government who actually cared about NSW.
Ansair had to open another facility when Bruce Baird finally started new bus orders again with the cheaper Scania product.

[ub94k]

Buses in Busways Penrith region are in complete and utter disarray. Several major roads shut down due to flooding causing diversions meaning some services are barely even following their routes

[jixuqianjin]

Check out this late night driving time-lapse footage: https://youtu.be/w-2FShu6_UA

[Linto63]

Look what happened to P M.C in 1991 after cuts obsessed Nicholas Greiner got in and discontinued orders after the final Mercedes 0405 and MAN SL202 batches were fulfilled.

That coincided with a realisation of how uneconomic it was for State Transit to dispose of mid-life buses at 12 years rather than retaining them for their full 25-year service life, hence the need for new buses evaporated.

Ansair had to open another facility when Bruce Baird finally started new bus orders again with the cheaper Scania product.

The Ansair plant in Tamworth was purely political, nothing about capacity in Melbourne. The Greiner government did not have an absolute majority and relied on the support of Tamworth independent to remain in office. He was pushing for Jakab, a Tamworth based ambulance and ice cream bodybuilder who had built a handful of (fairly ugly) buses, to be awarded the contract. Instead a deal was done for Ansair to body them in Tamworth, in a former East-West Airlines hangar IIRC, both Ansair and East-West being subsidiaries of Ansett at the time.

[Swift]

Ansair had to open another facility when Bruce Baird finally started new bus orders again with the cheaper Scania product.

The Ansair plant in Tamworth was purely political, nothing about capacity in Melbourne.

That's what I was getting at, the political angle.

[1whoknows]

The ex Transdev Melbourne MAN which took a dunking is reg XN99PS and is ex TDM 536. Now who owns it?

[Linto63]

Noticed a Transit Systems bus on a short working of route 320 to Zetland yesterday still displaying M20, presumably an oversight in the reprogramming of destination codes.

[marcnut1996]

Same for me, I saw a short working of route 430 to Town Hall still displaying M30.

[boronia]

The bus stop signage around Eddy Ave hasn't been updated either.

[Richard290]

I've noticed an unannounced, but notable change to the Pyrmont end of route 389 since last Sunday's service changes to region 6 - instead of Pyrmont bound services running direct via Pirrama Road and terminating at the Maritime Museum, they now make a right turn at Jones Bay Road, left Pyrmont Street, left Pyrmont Bridge Road, left Pirrama Road to loop around the Star Casino in an anti-clockwise direction and terminate at Marquee Sydney (SW corner of Pirrama Road and Jones Bay Road)
Before:



Current:

[Stu]

^ This change occurred on Feb 12. There was only a service alert message that was on display on the Transport Info website.

The closure of access to the Maritime Museum is to do with events celebrating the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook's voyage to Australia.

[Swift]

It's good to see routes like the 389 providing links from the city to Pyrmont, filling the service black hole.

[Fleet Lists]

What about the Light Rail L1?

[Richard290]

It's good to see routes like the 389 providing links from the city to Pyrmont, filling the service black hole.

The Pyrmont to Town Hall section of route 389 was originally the remainder of Route 443 which ran up George Street to Circular Quay prior to the October 2015 overhaul of the CBD bus network which merged 389 (which used to terminate at Circular Quay) with 443 to make 389 a new cross-city route, like 343 and 440.


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[Cowra]

Noticed a Transit Systems bus on a short working of route 320 to Zetland yesterday still displaying M20, presumably an oversight in the reprogramming of destination codes.

I don't think it's an oversight. The computer units on the some of the 3-door bendies are playing silly buggers and reverting to old files for some unknown reason.
Other operators are having similar issues.

[Swift]

It's good to see routes like the 389 providing links from the city to Pyrmont, filling the service black hole.

The Pyrmont to Town Hall section of route 389 was originally the remainder of Route 443 which ran up George Street to Circular Quay prior to the October 2015 overhaul of the CBD bus network which merged 389 (which used to terminate at Circular Quay) with 443 to make 389 a new cross-city route, like 343 and 440.


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It was a great move and FL, L1 blooming links Central with Pyrmont, not the city centre!

[moa999]

Correct. The 389, along with the 324/325 from Watson's Bay/Edgecliff and the 311 Kings Cross Loop, all got rerouted from CQ terminators to avoid the right hand turn from William to Elizabeth which was horrendous in the peaks

The 389 probably got the cleanest run. The 311/324/325 regularly are delayed by traffic on the western side of the city

[Stonesourscotty]

Busways Penrith1293 appears to have gained a few Big Mercedes Benz Decals from a Withdrawn Mercedes 0405

The WSU shuttle buses for Kingswood Campus finally have working displays about a year after delivery.

[Linto63]

Noticed Hopkinsons TV959 Volvo B12B repainted into Premier Motor Service fleet livery. Could be a straight fleet transfer, or perhaps a sign that the Hopkinsons brand is being phased out.

[Stonesourscotty]

Here's a photo of Busways 1134 with 1140 mistakenly applied as a fleetnumber

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[jixuqianjin]

Five star service at a Sydney operator: https://youtu.be/feXiFtD60iA