Parent | Transdev Australasia |
---|---|
Commenced operation | 4 August 2013 |
Ceased operation | 30 January 2022 |
Service area | Melbourne |
Service type | Bus operator |
Routes | 49 (January 2022) |
Depots | 6 |
Fleet | 534 (January 2022) |
Website | www.transdevmelbourne.com.au |
Transdev Melbourne was a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia, that operated the Melbourne Bus Franchise with a fleet of 534 buses on 49 bus routes from August 2013 until January 2022. It operated approximately 30% of Melbourne's bus network. It was a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia.
Until the 1990s, most of Transdev Melbourne's routes were operated by the Public Transport Corporation. In December 1993, the Doncaster and Fitzroy North bus depots and associated services were transferred to National Bus Company, formed by Westbus proprietors, Jim Bosnjak and his sister-in-law Carol. [1] [2] The remaining Public Transport Corporation services remained in public ownership until privatised in April 1998, with Dysons and Reservoir Bus Company forming Melbourne Bus Link to take over the services operating out of Footscray and Sandringham depots. [3]
In June 2012, Public Transport Victoria called for expressions of interest for the Melbourne Metropolitan Bus Franchise, involving 30% of the city's bus network, operated by Melbourne Bus Link and National Bus Company, including three SmartBus routes. [4] From ten expressions received, a shortlist of five bidders was selected in August 2012, with FirstGroup, Keolis Downer, National Bus Company (Ventura Bus Lines), Transit Systems, and Transdev invited to tender. [5] [6]
In April 2013, Transdev was awarded the franchise, with operations commencing on 4 August 2013. [7] [8] [9] The franchise was to run for seven years with an option to extend for a further three years. [10] In December 2018, it was announced by the government that the three years extension option will not be taken up, but instead a six-month extension was granted, extending the contract to January 2021. [11] [12] However, in an apparent bid to save jobs and preserve stability in the bus industry due to COVID-19, the contract was extended to 31 January 2022. [13]
In September 2017, safety inspections by Transport Safety Victoria at two Transdev bus depots found 33 defective buses. Twelve of the buses were in such poor condition that they were removed from service for urgent repairs. [14] After being re-tendered, the contract was awarded to Kinetic Melbourne, which took over on 31 January 2022. [15]
Transdev Melbourne originally took over the operation of 52 routes spanning Melbourne's metropolitan area, separated into three groups: 40 Eastern routes, nine Western routes and three SmartBus Orbital routes. It also operated 122 school bus services across metropolitan Melbourne. [16] [17] [18]
Transdev Melbourne inherited a fleet of approximately 500 buses from Melbourne Bus Link, Ventura Bus Lines and SmartBus operators. [16] When operations ceased in January 2022, the fleet consisted of 534 buses. [19]
The Public Transport Victoria white and orange diamonds livery was being applied, except to SmartBus liveried buses that remained this livery.
Transdev Melbourne operated from five depots, with two satellite depots. The Eastern network (former National Bus Company) operated out of depots in Doncaster and Fitzroy North, while the Western network (former Melbourne Bus Link) operated depots in Footscray and Sandringham. The SmartBus Orbital fleet operated out of Keysborough depot (formerly owned by Grenda's Bus Service), as well as two interim satellite depots at Dysons in Reservoir, and Tullamarine Bus Lines in Airport West, with a requirement to establish a more permanent storage solution by 2017. [16]
New depots opened at Heatherton, Sunshine West and Thomastown in September 2016, October 2016 and March 2017 to replace the Sandringham, Footscray and satellite depots respectively. [20] [21] [22] [23] The Doncaster and Fitzroy North depots were also rebuilt as part of an upgrade program. A temporary depot was set up in North Melbourne while these works occurred.
Middle Brighton railway station is located on the Sandringham line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Brighton, and it opened on 21 December 1861 as Church Street. It was renamed Middle Brighton on 1 January 1867.
Buses in Melbourne, Australia, are a major form of public transport in Melbourne, with an extensive bus network. There are 346 routes in operation with a varying range of service frequencies, operated by privately owned bus companies under franchise from the State Government. The Night Network bus system consists of 10 routes and operates on Friday and Saturday nights, and a SmartBus orbital bus network currently consisting of nine routes, which is intended to facilitate cross city travel, while the current network is predominantly a radial network. Most of the bus network is a covered by the myki ticketing system.
Ventura Bus Lines is a large bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, operating a fleet of 893 buses on 141 bus routes, including 2 SmartBus routes and 2 V/Line services. It commenced operations in December 1924.
National Bus Company was an Australian bus operator in Melbourne until August 2013. It also formerly operated buses in Brisbane between August 1997 and September 2004.
CDC Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It operates 55 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia.
CDC Victoria is a transport company which operates in Victoria and is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Australia. It was renamed from Kefford Corporation, which was acquired by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge in February 2009.
Melbourne Bus Link was an Australian bus and coach operator in Melbourne. It was a Melbourne bus company that operated nine bus routes under contract to the Public Transport Victoria. Melbourne Bus Link ceased operations on 3 August 2013.
Transit Systems Victoria, formerly Sita Buslines, is a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems and operates 18 bus routes under contract to Public Transport Victoria.
SmartBus is a network of bus services in the city of Melbourne, Australia. Overseen by Public Transport Victoria, the network comprises nine key cross-town and orbital bus routes around Melbourne. Key aspects of the service include more frequent services, extended hours of operation to include late evening and Sunday services. improved timetable information at bus stops, roadspace priority along certain routes and priority at particular traffic lights. Busses on SmartBus routes are shared among three operators, with route 900 being operated by both Ventura Bus Lines and CDC Melbourne.
The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had been formed by the merger of a number of smaller tramway trusts and companies that operated throughout the city.
Transdev NSW is a bus operator in the northern, southern and western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, operating on behalf of Transport for NSW. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia. It is a different subsidiary to Transdev John Holland, which is 75% owned by Transdev and operates in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
East West Bus Company was a privately owned bus operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated three bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria.
Reservoir Bus Company was a privately owned bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated 10 bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria. The company was bought by Dysons Group in November 2012, and its branding was gradually replaced by Dysons branding. Its website closed in 2017 and redirected to the Dysons website until 2019.
The Public Transport Corporation (PTC) was a Victoria State Government owned statutory authority formed under the Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), known to the general public as The Met, was a Government of Victoria owned corporate body that operated suburban passenger trains, trams and buses in Victoria, Australia. It was set up under Section 15 of the Transport Act 1983 and commenced operation on 1 July 1983. It was a statutory body set up to manage the trams formerly operated by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board, the metropolitan train operations of the former VicRail, and the operations of the former Melbourne Underground Rail Loop Authority.
Transdev Australasia is an operator of bus, ferry, light rail and rail services in Australia and New Zealand. It is a subsidiary of French-based, international Transdev. It was formed in 2013 by grouping the operations of Veolia Transport Australia and former Transdev together, as a result of the global rebranding from Veolia Transdev to Transdev.
Kinetic Melbourne is a bus operator in Melbourne, Australia, operating a fleet of 531 buses on 43 bus routes, as well as seven SmartBus routes. It commenced operations on 31 January 2022, taking over all routes previously operated by Transdev Melbourne. It is a subsidiary of the Kinetic Group.
Melbourne bus route 901 is a bus route operated by Kinetic Melbourne between Frankston station and Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the SmartBus network.
Melbourne bus route 202 is a limited-stop bus route operated by Kinetic Melbourne between Yarra Bend Park and the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus in Melbourne, Australia.
Media related to Transdev Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons