Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 352 i Australasian Bus & Coach

A new Translink quarterly report shows Queensland’s buses are less likely to run on time than they were over the last few years. With 93.26 per cent of buses running on time, the minimum reliability target of 90 per cent set by Translink has been met, though figures have been declining. In Q1 2014-15 reliability was at 96.59 per cent, then dropped to 95 per cent by Q4 2014-15. Buses in inner-Brisbane were less likely on average to be on time at 87.90 per cent, although the Southern Region (Logan and the far-north Gold Coast region) had the least reliable buses at 82.95 per cent. According to the Translink data, the current downward trend in reliability could see the state average drop to around 91 per cent over the next…

Deliveries suffered in the last quarter of this year after a couple of months of above-average numbers, but have now returned to their former glory. Coming from 97 in October, November saw 100 buses delivered. This number is still above average for the year, as January to May saw no totals above 86 – it rounds off the year nicely and shows the market is still reasonably buoyant. For suppliers, the vast majority of deliveries were Volvos (43), followed by Scanias (33). Yutong reported seven deliveries for the month of November, up from five in October. All other manufacturers delivered less than four vehicles respectively. Of the body builders, Volgren led the way by a vast margin with 40, which was up on the 36 reported in October. Bustech was…

‘Moving people: Shaping our cities and regions’ was the chosen theme for the Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) National Conference this year, held on the Scarborough coastline in Perth’s northern suburbs. As well as a delightful ocean sunset each afternoon, delegates were keen to look at their own futures, especially with the emergence of disruptors within the industry. Day one proved a good time for discussion around this topic, as speakers focused on the future of the bus industry and where businesses should be looking to move – and looking to move away from. A main theme of the conference was the integration of transport, in which bus would work with rail – both light and heavy – as well as demand responsive transport (DRT) such as Uber. The potential for…

“You should not turn a blind eye if it seems obvious that your contractors are underpaying their workers” Tim Capelin Piper Alderman partner P: 02 9253 9936 E: tcapelin@piperalderman.com.au W: piperalderman.com.au This year has seen the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) successfully secure penalties against employers that have been non-compliant with workplace laws. Importantly, as well as employers, the FWO is focusing on others, including directors, officers and franchisors found to be involved in the contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). According to the FWO’s 2015-2016 Annual Report, 92 per cent of non-compliance matters filed in court by the FWO included an accessory (party other than the employer). While the FWO’s focus has been on industries it believes employs large numbers of potentially vulnerable…

With continuous improvement a constant priority at Custom, the market-leading CB80 low-foor bus and SB50 school bus are forged from more than 60 years of bus building experience combined with active input from today’s bus operators. The result is a new standard in operational efficiency, engineered through cutting-edge design technology and the very latest automotive materials. Finite element analysis ensures the frame and chassis combination can withstand the hard vibrations and conditions for over 25 years of operation. “Our proven products are right at home in the city or the middle of the bush, offering great insurance and peace of mind for any operator,” national sales manager Luke Jolly says. “Australia’s leading bus operators entrust us to provide their total bus requirements. From design and build of their bus to…

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Polleys Coaches as an operator in the relatively quiet town of Gympie, in Queensland’s Wide Bay-Burnett region. Previously known as the Tin Can Bay Bus Company, Polleys started in 1956 when Duncan Polley bought the Tin Can Bay Bus, and started his own operation. That operation consisted of one bus running between Tin Can Bay and Gympie a couple of times a week. Since then, Polleys has grown to be known as the family that helps thousands of kids in the area travel to school daily. Duncan’s son Warren is now the managing director of the operation, having taken over a few years ago to see it through to its 60th birthday. Halfway through 2015, Duncan Polley sadly passed away – though he…

The new bi-articulated chassis, Gran Artic 300, which is 30m long and can carry up to 300 passengers, has been unveiled. Volvo Bus Latin America CEO Fabiano Todeschini is confident the design will revolutionise public transport and be embraced by metro bus operators around the world. “We are leaders in vehicles for high-capacity transportation systems, bus rapid transit [BRT], and now we introduce the world’s largest bus chassis,” he says. “This vehicle will provide more efficient transportation systems, offering a higher quality for the passengers and improved cost efficiency for transport operators.” The new Gran Artic 300 has been developed in Brazil especially for BRT systems – high-demand transportation where buses run on dedicated lanes. The bus will be able to carry up to 30 more passengers than the preceding…

Graeme McDonald A member of the Money Resources Group P: 03 8699 5000 F: 03 9690 9484 M: 0401 189 160 E: graeme@ moneyresources.com.au So we’ve finally reached the end of another year, and by the time you get this, Christmas may well be only days away – or, depending on Australia Post, it’s just passed. It’s always an interesting time of year in the finance world. Things happen, and, because we are in wind-down mode and looking forward to a break, they tend to slip under the radar a bit, often only appearing briefy in the news feeds of major reporting services or as small paragraphs in the paper. One such article that really only hit my radar briefy in the form mentioned above reported on a series…

The Infrastructure Australia (IA) 15-Year Plan was released in early 2016, and the Federal Government supported the majority of its recommendations as guidelines recently. The Turnbull Government has stated support for 69 of the 78 recommendations made by IA, as well as 14 of the 15 projects on IA’s Infrastructure Priority List. Two of the 69 recommendations the government agrees with relate to public transport contracts and road pricing. The issues have been heavily discussed within the industry recently, most prominently at the Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) National Conference. As the industry urges governments to consider the social impact of its process for deciding who is awarded each contract, IA says governments should be aiming to “improve customers’ experience by exposing delivery to contestable supply and selecting the best operator…

The low-foor Citirider is the newest addition to the BCI feet designed especially for city bus operators, perfect for urban areas as well as being suitable for school bus applications – including children with special needs. With a company slogan ‘the difference is in the details’, I was looking forward to driving the new Citirider and chatting to sales manager Cameron Millen from BCI’s Hallam operations in Victoria. A special feature of the Citirider body is the use of all-aluminium skirt panels, and fibreglass front and rear header, with a choice of a glass or aluminium roof. All of the body’s lower panels are bolt-on bolt-off for ease of maintenance and quick turnaround time after an accident. Millen says you can “change a panel in 15-30 minutes” – minimum time…

Canberra’s bus network will be better equipped to integrate with the city’s upcoming light rail system after a $57 million investment from the ACT Greens. As well as this investment, the ACT Greens also announced a plan to phase out fossil-fuel buses. ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury says the strategy is simply to make moving around the city easier. “This plan is about investing in the things that make people’s lives better every day. It’s about putting the community first and making it easier to get around our city,” Rattenbury says. “Sitting in traffic is bad for people and bad for the planet. What Canberrans desperately need is more convenient, affordable public transport to get around our city.” The plan will see bus routes matching up with the first stage…

A new super bus service will be rolled out as part of a $7 million annual spend to improve Perth’s bus network. Western Australia (WA) transport minister Bill Marmion welcomed Transperth’s latest high-frequency route, the 960, as it hit the road recently. He says new bus priority lanes and signalisation changes, as well as consolidating multiple bus routes into high-frequency services such as the 960 will provide a higher-frequency service. The 960 replaces Routes 885 and 888, and operates between Mirrabooka and Curtin via the new Perth Busport and Victoria Park Transfer Station, with a five-minute frequency between Curtin and Mount Lawley during peak periods. Marmion says the 960 service was made possible by a $1.4 million new bus lane along Fitzgerald Street, and complements Route 970, another high-frequency service…

Michael Apps BIC National Secretariat PO Box 6171, Kingston ACT 2604 P: 02 6247 5990 F: 02 6273 1035 E: admin@bic.asn.au “Governments are not going to walk away from the obligations that lay at the core of providing mass and social transit services” A great turnout in Scarborough, Perth, for the BIC conference would indicate the industry is fully focused on the future and the nature of possible business models that might emerge for existing bus businesses. As the world moves forward towards new on-demand transport services (some such as Uber already with us, and others such as Lyft and Bridj emerging), new transport and destination-based technology, autonomous vehicles, and new vehicle and passenger transport feets, the conference heard from leading-edge speakers and discussed what the options will be for…

It’s been seven months since Transdev Melbourne’s (TDM) 510 buses were fitted with TomTom telematics, with the public transport provider already reaping the benefits. Aside from looking to improve driving, save on fuel and closely monitor its business, TDM turns to technology to make travelling with them more attractive. With six different depots across Melbourne, some 1160 staff, 46 bus routes and 123 school services, TDM’s annual patronage is about 28 million. Allocating each bus to a run can be challenging, but TDM can do so smoothly thanks to online feet management solution TomTom, which provides real-time monitoring of vehicle movements. It’s taken six months to install the devices across the feet and integrate data with TDM devices, with schedules of every driver now linked to the system. TomTom is…