Transdev NSW

History

The origins of the company that is now Transdev NSW can be traced back to February 1935 when GH Ramsay commenced a bus service between Sutherland station and Woronora River. It was sold to Mayman Brothers in 1948 and Doug and Barry Smith in 1966 trading as Woronora Bus Company. Following the opening of the Alfords Point Bridge in September 1973 the service was extended to Padstow station. The operation was renamed Menai Bus Service.

In August 1988 Menai Bus Service was purchased by Ron Deane who at the time operated Deanes Coaches on the North Shore. In March 1989 the Hurstville to Bankstown and Lugarno services of Peakhurst Coaches were purchased, although the latter was sold in August 1989 to Punchbowl Bus Company. In July 1989 the business of Hadfields Bus Lines, Engadine were purchased and at this point, all the operations were rebranded as Southtrans. In October 1990, three routes were transferred from South Western Coach Lines, followed in December 1990 by two routes from Sutherland Bus Service.

Other bus companies subsequently acquired were:

Crowthers remained as charter operator as of January 2016. Caringbah Bus Service also remained as a charter operator under their previous charter operation name Tiger Tours until May 2015, when the business was purchased by Dunn Motor Traction and merged into its Telford's Bus & Coach operations.

In September 1999 Southtrans was sold to Connex and renamed Connex Southtrans. It was renamed again to Connex NSW in 2002. In January 2005, the Granville and Bankstown routes of Baxter's Bus Lines were transferred to Connex and Transit First and became part of Region 13.

In April 2006 the company was renamed Veolia Transport NSW as part of a global re-branding exercise. Soon after, Veolia undertook a re-organisation and simplification of its route services across Region 13 in September 2006 and Region 10 in November 2007. However, many of the altered Region 10 bus routes were later restored to their original state due to a severe decline in passenger numbers and high levels of passenger complaints. The idea to make bus services "straighter" did not have a welcome reception with passengers who preferred convenience as opposed to speed for the sake of it on shorter routes.

In February 2007 Veolia bought out its Region 13 partner Transit First which included the transfer of 86 buses, 15 routes and the lease on the current Bankstown Airport depot. This purchase also saw Veolia move their head office from Taren Point to Bankstown Airport. In January 2009 Region 11 operator Crowthers was purchased followed in October 2011 by fellow Region 11 operator Caringbah Bus Service.

In March 2011, Veolia Transport worldwide merged with Transdev, to form Veolia Transdev. As a result, in July 2013, Veolia Transport NSW was renamed Transdev NSW. Later that year, fellow Transdev Australasia subsidiary Transdev Shorelink Buses, was also absorbed into the Transdev NSW business. Rebranding of all Transdev NSW buses to the new Transdev logo took place in mid 2014. A new website for all Transdev NSW public bus operations was opened on 8 September 2014. A separate website has also been set up to manage its charter operations.

Operations

Transdev NSW operates the Region 10, 11, 12 and 13 commuter bus services under contract to Transport for NSW. Regions 10 services were already operated by the company (then Connex) since early 2000s. Region 11 and 13 services became fully operated by the company after the acquisition of other bus companies such as Transit First in the late 2000s and early 2010s. As a result, the smaller Region 11 was merged into the larger neighbouring Region 10. Transdev NSW also took responsibility for Transdev Shorelink Buses routes in Region 12 in 2014, resulting in Transdev NSW operating in both northern and southern Sydney.

In November 2012, Transdev Shorelink retained the contract to operate Region 12, and this contract was passed on to Transdev NSW in 2014. Also in January 2013, Veolia were granted seven year extensions to their Region 10 and 13 contracts.

Transdev NSW operates bus routes from depots at Bankstown Airport, Menai, Mount Kuring-gai, Revesby, South Granville and Taren Point. Transdev operates three of Sydney's Metrobus routes: M90 between Liverpool and Burwood, M91 between Hurstville and Parramatta and M92 between Sutherland and Parramatta. Transdev also operates two bus routes to the city: 594 from North Turramurra and 594H from Hornsby. Transdev operates a free shuttle service 900 around Parramatta.

Fleet

As at October 2014, the fleet consisted of 445 buses. Most of the buses have white liveries. The fronts of the older white buses were originally yellow and were repainted when the company was rebranded as Veolia in April 2006. Buses dedicated to the Metrobus operation (82 as at October 2014) have a red livery applied, while buses dedicated to free shuttle services have green liveries. Since 2010 the Transport for NSW white and blue livery progressively began to be applied to the bus fleet.