Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 339 i Australasian Bus & Coach

Western Australian bus operator Adams Group has scooped a major contract to provide services to Rottnest Island. Adams Group managing director Adam Barnard explains the deal to operate on the island, which lies 18km off the coast of Fremantle, has been more than four years in the making. “It’s an exciting time for Rottnest Island and the tourism industry,” he says. “With our experience and investment we will ensure that in future years the service significantly increases its capacity and introduces a new environmentally friendly fleet. “Adams will add four additional wheelchair accessible and air-conditioned buses to cater for the peak summer period. “This will be the first year all Island Explorer hop on, hop off vehicles will be air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.” New buses have arrived from the mainland…

NZBCA delegates were transported to Hobbiton, Matamata — about one hour away from the conference venue — for the conference finale. Hobbition is one of the sets for the country’s most famous movie trilogies Lord Of The Rings, directed by kiwi Peter Jackson. The set was removed after the filming wrapped up a few years ago but was rebuilt on a permanent basis to shoot the trilogy prequel The Hobbit. The conference finale saw delegates take a bus tour through the farm before being able to walk through Hobbiton. Hobbiton is now the nation’s number one tourist destination — and it’s not hard to see why. Despite there not being many movie buffs in ABC’s particular tour group, the magic of the films was not lost on those who have…

Christchurch is a city in New Zealand which was devastated by major earthquakes in 2011. The impact of the earthquakes was widespread which included the death of nearly 200 people. Despite the obvious trauma to the city, the rebuild has come steadily. The importance of passenger transport has been realised within this time, with local operator Red Bus playing a major role in restoring the city to its heyday. Red Bus is one of two large operators within the city which share all the urban bus routes, as well as undertaking some tourism and charter. Chief executive Paul McNoe says the earthquakes brought about major change to the city, with the bus network having to be redesigned to accommodate the shift in population. The earthquakes largely struck the CBD and…

Recently, ABC magazine reviewed Volvo’s Euro 6 articulated route bus in Perth, and while there we visited the factory of its body builder — Volgren. It was fascinating to see both bendy buses and conventional rigids in various stages of manufacturer for Volgren’s big customer in the west, the Public Transport Authority (PTA). Volgren is building 105 Volvo B7 chassis a year for the PTA at present, and is building Volvo B8 articulateds for the PTA at the rate of 15 per year. Our tour guide was Volgren Western Australia state manager Matthew Smith, who oversees the factory and its 80-plus staff. He’s an engineer who worked for many years in car componentry and other manufacturing before moving to Volgren, and is one of those passionately smart people who is…

Melbourne bus operators were among a large audience when Chinese company Brighsun New Energy unveiled ambitious plans to manufacture electric buses in Australia for sale on local and overseas markets. Brighsun plans to be in production by early 2016, initially using imported batteries and motors, but the aim is eventually to make the entire bus in Australia. The announcement was made at a launch event in October in Melbourne. Brighsun CEO Allen Saylav says the corporate plan also calls for the manufacture of electric-powered heavy vehicles and, in time, cars and light rail vehicles such as trams and trains. The company is currently running testing and development trials on the four prototype buses it has brought into the country. It is operating out of three sites in Melbourne’s west and…

PERCENTAGE BY REGION PERCENTAGE BY APPLICATION SALES BY CHASSIS Deliveries took a sharp dive in October, with just 88 buses delivered in July, compared to 115 the month before. Top of the pack was Scania with a solid 26 buses delivered, Volvo came in at a distant second with 17 deliveries. Eleven Volvo route service buses were notably delivered to the Public Transport Authority in Western Australia. SALES BY BODY Fifteen buses were delivered by Volgren this month, while Bustech was involved in nine deliveries. Less than five buses were delivered by the majority of the other builders. SALES BY AIR-CONDITIONER Thermo King led the way among air-conditioning suppliers and was included in 44 deliveries, an improvement on last month’s result (38). Konvekta was included in the delivery of six…

Bus operators able to contribute services during the 2018 Commonwealth Games are invited to an industry briefing on the Gold Coast in November. The meeting is set for November 25 at QT Hotel at Surfers Paradise and operators who want experience in contributing services to the international sporting event and are up to the mammoth task of transporting people to and from various competition venues from April 4 to 15 are welcome. Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) executive director Michael Apps says the event is huge and will require more than 1,000 buses to get the job done. “No one can pull that number of buses together all in one group,” he says. “Queensland alone won’t be able to do it, this will require a multi-state effort and this is open…

Sydney bus patrons are feeling the heat as George Street has closed to all traffic in Sydney’s CBD. While major bus timetable and route changes came in last month, the new system was truly tested as other vehicles re-routed away from George Street, increasing congestion and delaying bus services in the CBD. “It’s been more than 65 years since the trams on George Street were replaced by buses and this marks a historic movement towards the future of transport in the Sydney CBD as we make way for Sydney Light Rail major construction,” New South Wales minister for transport and infrastructure Andrew Constance says. “Light rail will change how we travel through the city and all road users need to be prepared to accommodate major construction work.” NSW minister for…

The O-Bahn City Access Project contract has been awarded by the South Australian Government with a promise of more jobs for locals. McConnell Dowell will design and build the $160 million tunnel project, engaging a SA company making the transition from automotive to advanced manufacturing for a key role in the construction. Transport and infrastructure minister Stephen Mullighan says South Australian workers would share the majority of the 450 jobs expected to be supported over the life of the project. “McConnell Dowell has delivered some of the state’s key infrastructure projects in recent times, including the award-winning Riverbank Bridge — the centrepiece of our Riverbank Precinct,” Mullighan says. “The company has also been involved in a number of other award-winning projects including the Bakewell Underpass and the Adelaide Showgrounds Station.…

Metro Tasmania is pushing for bus users to adopt its Greencard payment system after making electronic payments cheaper than cash tickets. Trips paid for by Greencard became 20 per cent cheaper than cash fares last month, the organisation no longer offers 90-minute transfers on cash tickets and daily caps have also been lowered for those making more than one journey. “Electronic payment makes it easier and quicker to board a bus, and it allows us to provide a more efficient service,” Metro Tasmania says in a statement on the changes. “You won’t need to worry about finding the right change, demonstrating a concession, or knowing which kind of ticket to ask for.” The operator hosted a series of community engagement workshops around Hobart, Burnie and Launceston to explain the changes…

Australian bus body builders are undergoing a transformation of sorts, encouraged by a favourable exchange rate, and the mood is notably optimistic. The old ways of doing thing are out the door as the domestic builders look to reinforce their strengths, namely quality, longevity and after-sales service. While some operators may look to the Asian market as a discount option, the whole-of-life cost must be considered and the local body builders say they have quality and service that cannot and will never be rivalled by the offshore players. Sydney-based bus body builder Custom Bus is optimistic in light of its new leadership and the organisation is now determined to become the Australian market leader. With a new man at the helm, Custom is focused on upgrading quality and setting the…

A huge 28m bi-articulated Scania could provide a cost-effective alternative to rail in Australia’s biggest cities in the future. While the organisation has no plans to bring the beast to Australian shores just yet, the Brazilian market will provide an excellent testing ground for the high-capacity vehicles, following its release recently. “It’s the same as removing 135 cars each carrying two passengers from the road,” Scania Brazil’s head of bus and coach sales Silvio Munhoz says. The mega bus is powered by Scania’s 360hp (268kW) front engine, with a body by Brazilian bus bodybuilders Caio or Neobus, and has five doors for efficient boarding and exiting. The passenger-per-kilometre cost is also 40 per cent less than regular articulated buses, according to Scania. “This is very much in line with Scania’s…

The Queensland bus industry is calling for a boost to bus infrastructure, with new figures showing bus travel as the most popular option for commuters in southeast Queensland. Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) patronage figures for the 2014 and 2015 financial year show 64 per cent of total public transport patronage in south-east Queensland was by bus, more than twice the patronage of rail. Queensland Bus Industry Council (QBIC) executive director David Tape believes the figures don’t lie and highlight the urgent need for new bus infrastructure, especially with the rapid growth of Brisbane’s outlying suburban regions. “Buses enjoy a near 65 per cent of transport market share in the southeast corner and continues to prove to be the most effective and reliable form of passenger commute,” he…

Fifteen buses will be fitted with bike racks in Bendigo in a one-year trial, the Victorian Government announced recently. Bike racks fitted to the front of buses operating on Route 16, Routes 510 and 512 in Moreland, and the Cowes to Wonthaggi service, will be capable of carrying two bikes per bus. The trial is a joint initiative of the Bus Association Victoria (BusVic), VicRoads and Public Transport Victoria. BusVic executive director Chris Lowe is pleased to see the initiative it helped spearhead gain traction across the state. “It’s very important that industry and government work together to increase the intermodality that exists on our network,” he says. “The interface of bikes and buses is well entrenched in America, Europe, New Zealand and even Canberra, but for some reason not…

Haere mai. Welcome. Staying true to the traditional Maori greeting, the New Zealand Bus and Coach Association (NZBCA) annual conference drew hundreds of bus industry representatives from local and international waters. Delegates were welcomed to the Waikato Events and Convention Centre — otherwise known as Claudelands — with the annual general meeting (AGM) on October 8 followed by the welcome events sponsored by Thermo King and CablePrice Scania. More than 250 delegates attended the three-day event and social functions held from October 8 to 10, and 34 were on display throughout the conference with 50 suppliers’ stands presents. The conference encompassed all things Aotearoa — the traditional name for New Zealand — from a beautiful drive for many from Auckland Airport to Hamilton in the heart of the scenic Waikato…

Australian Capital Territory’s bus and future light rail network will be run from a single agency called Transport Canberra effective from the start of 2016. Transport Canberra’s role will be to ensure smooth integration of bus and light rail into a convenient, efficient, affordable and reliable network. The organisation will be responsible for redistributing more than a million bus kilometres freed up when the first stage of light rail begins running. It will also be responsible for integrating buses with light rail, ensuring a single ticketing system, a central contact for information and coordinated timetabling. The establishment of the new agency is part of the ACT Government’s Public Transport Improvement Plan, which is designed to make sure we have a convenient public transport network to manage congestion in Canberra. “Transport…

SPECS MAKE/MODEL: 1968 Leyland Panther PSUR1-1 route bus BODY: Athol Hedges bolted alloy steel frame with aluminium panels ENGINE: 11-litre horizontal 6 cylinder Leyland EO680, no turbo OUTPUTS: 125hp (92kW); 475ft-lb (640Nm) @ 1,000rpm TRANSMISSION: ZF fully automatic 2-speed BRAKES: Air, drum (ABS and EBS were unheard of) LICENSED PASSENGERS: 83, 41 seated DIMENSIONS: 11m long; 2.44m wide; GVM 12 tonnes Sometimes we tend to take all the technology in modern buses and coaches for granted, so this month ABC magazine is going retro. We’ve taken an urban route bus for a test drive nearly 50 years after it was built — and apart from being a lot of fun, our drive threw up some surprising results. We also discovered that this bus was a global pioneer in hybrid technology,…