Australasian Bus & Coach Issue 336

It seems there’s an app for everything these days. Want to exercise more? Download an app. Are you planning on quitting smoking? There’s one for that, too. Do you want the whole world to know you’re out for dinner and the customer service is atrocious? You know what to do. I was out getting takeaway this month — no, I didn’t Menulog it — when a chap outside the local mall asked me if I wanted free frozen yoghurt for dessert from the shop two doors over. No catch, he reckons, although on closer inspection of the flyer I noticed I had to download the Zomato app and ‘check-in’ to claim this delicious treat. After tossing up the wait time versus effort to download the app versus the cold weather…

Australian cities need to increase investment in public transport networks to keep up an increasing demand for services, according to a recent report. The State of Australian Cities report shows patronage on public transport has grown significantly over the past decade, with a rate of average annual growth of 2.4 per cent. This far surpasses the average rate of population growth in capital cities, which stands at 1.8 per cent. It warns investment in Melbourne and Sydney’s public transport network should be increased to meet future demand, since patronage is growing at astonishing rates and before overcrowding becomes an issue. The report shows Melbourne has a much lower proportion of inner-suburb residents using public transport to access the city and inner-suburbs for work, compared to Sydney. Only 35 per cent…

Thousands of buses across Sydney will be retrofitted with fire suppression systems as the New South Wales Government has called for tenders to undertake the work. Under the plan, more than 3,700 public and private buses across Sydney, the Illawarra and Hunter will be retrofitted with fire suppression systems in a major boost for customer safety. About 800 state transit buses already have fire suppression systems installed, with a tender now open to retrofit the remaining 1,300 buses in the fleet. Around 400 private buses also have the systems and a separate tender will ensure the remaining 2,400 buses are fitted out. Minister for transport and infrastructure Andrew Constance says the priority is to ensure all buses operating on our public transport network have these systems installed as quickly as…

Adelaide trains continue to run late as the metropolitan bus network keeps kicking goals. Buses are blowing trains out of the water when it comes to punctuality in South Australia. Every train service struggled to keep up with timetables compared to buses, with two train lines performing below 90 per cent, according to Adelaide Metro’s latest On Time Running Performance report. Only 92.4 per cent of trains ran on time across the whole train network, compared to 95.9 per cent of buses. The automatic route setting function on the Bel-Air line was updated in May and Adelaide Metro hoped this would help solve some of the issues causing delays. Just 88.9 per cent of trains on the Belair line are running on time and only 89.9 per cent of trains…

A Queensland coach operator has branched out after acquiring Brisbane’s Made Easy Tours. As well as operating a number of school runs in Queensland, Stonestreets Coaches is one of the largest transport providers to the oil, gas and mining industry in Australia and has been operating since 1983. Stonestreets Coaches managing director Phil Stonestreet says the move represents an expansion of their existing travel division and adds another feather to their cap. “The acquisition of Made Easy Tours will give Stonestreets a larger presence in the international travel industry and will enable us to provide more specialised services to both individuals and escorted groups,” he says. “The addition of the curriculum-based travel products will be especially relevant to our existing school customers.” Made Easy Tours conducts battlefield tours to Europe,…

A massive review of Hobart bus services is set to see some significant network changes, in a city that relies on bus as its sole mode of public transport. The network review will result in fewer, but more direct routes and services will operate in the evenings and on weekends in areas that currently only have weekday daytime runs. The existing Metro Express network will be replaced more direct express services that will stop at all stops in their home suburb and then travel directly to and from Hobart City. The review includes improved levels of service, including the expansion of bus routes into new areas of Brighton, Old Beach, Tranmere and Oakdowns. It will also see poorly-patronised and lengthy, winding routes that travel via narrow streets and are difficult…