Parent CDC Victoria Service type Bus operator Headquarters Geelong, Australia | Service area Geelong Routes 10 Fleet 85 | |
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Website www.cdcvictoria.com.au/cdcgeelong Founders Ernest Bender, Aimee Bender | ||
CDC Geelong, formerly known as Benders Busways, is an Australian bus company in Geelong operating routes under the Geelong Transit System umbrella, as well as charter work. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Cabcharge.
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History
Benders Busways was formed by Ernest and Aimee Bender in 1926. Their son Norman Bender eventually took over the business. The first route ran from Geelong to Chilwell, and in 1931 a second route commenced from the Geelong Post Office to the corner of Minerva Road and Aberdeen Street in Geelong West.
The closure of the Geelong tram system in 1956 saw Benders win the contract to serve the former tram routes with buses. Eighteen new buses were purchased to run the increased number of services.
In 1987 Benders purchased IJ Cook & Son. In June 2000 the Bender family sold Benders Busways to the Kefford Corporation. In February 2009 the Kefford Corporation was sold to ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, with the sale including Benders Busways for A$149.2 million. At the time Kefford was the fourth-largest bus operator in Victoria, with a fleet of 328 buses and six depots, and with a market share of 16%. On 14 July 2014, CDC announced that Benders Busways would be re-branded as CDC Geelong.
Livery
When the Geelong Transit System (GTS) was first introduced in 1983, buses operated by Benders on route services were painted in the blue stripe and white GTS livery. However the contract with the state government requiring Benders to use the GTS livery on its urban route buses expired in 2000, and under the subsequent contract the company's buses all reverted to Benders' former white and green livery.
In August 2014, CDC Victoria announced that it had started to use the recently-introduced Public Transport Victoria orange and white livery on its buses, replacing the former Benders livery, and CDC Geelong buses providing public transport services were progressively repainted.
Fleet
As at November 2015 the CDC Geelong fleet consisted of 85 buses and coaches.