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Thursday, 9th September 2010
Company Profile
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Busways began in 1942 with a single charcoal powered hire car running between Rooty Hill station and Plumpton. Four years later Dick Rowe, the man behind the service, bought his first bus signalling the start of a journey that would lead to the 600 plus fleet that is servicing the areas of Blacktown, Camden, Campbelltown, the Central Coast and the NSW Mid North Coast today.
Busways today
Today Busways employs nearly 1000 people; 742 drivers, 134 in the workshop, 62 operating the depots and 59 in head office. They are responsible for the 600 plus fleet delivering quality Busways services every day of the week.
Busways operates around 100 bus routes in the Sydney and Central Coast regions, and approximately 30 more in the North Coast area. These bus services take people to and from work, shopping centres, beaches and many other places. Busways' school services transport students from as far north as Illuka and as far south as Wollongong five days a week. Charter Services are also available from all depots.
Depots
Sydney
Central Coast
| North Coast
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The history of Busways - a story of quality, efficiency and growth
| 1942 | Dick Rowe commences a hire car service from Rooty Hill to Plumpton with a 1931 five-seater Chrysler 70 |
| 1946 | First bus bought – a 1935 Reo 21-passenger bus for £225 |
| 1949 | Service to St Marys clothing factory starts |
| 1956 | Double deckers obtained for munitions factory service |
| 1958 | First permanent depot established at Plumpton Fred Bowman & Dick Rowe buy Parramatta-Villawood Bus Service |
| 1965 | Jim Newport, Roger Graham & Dick Rowe take over Campbelltown buses |
| 1970s | New bus routes established to support housing developments in the Mt Druitt area |
| 1978 | Parramatta-Villawood Bus Service sold Fleet number reaches eighty Twenty-six new Volvo’s bought |
| 1984 | Riverstone Bus Company and their 15 buses acquired |
| 1986 | Rowe family acquires Higletts Camden services including thirty buses Ten second-hand articulated buses are imported from Japan |
| 1988 | 1988 Busways corporate name adopted |
| 1989 | 25 MAN buses bought between 1989-90 |
| 1990 | Seargents of Wyong and their 34 buses are acquired by Busways Passenger Transport Act passed by NSW Government, with the committed support of Busways |
| 1991 | Campbelltown-Appin route extended to Wollongong when Farmborough Coaches sell their service |
| 1992 | Busways begins buying Mercedes Benz buses |
| 1994 | Blue Ribbon sells Catherine Hill Bay route to Busways Busways buys Peninsula Bus Lines services on the Central Coast adding nearly 50 Scanias to the fleet Leslie's bus routes in South Blacktown and fifteen buses acquired |
| 1995 | Blacktown bus/rail interchange opened |
| 1995 | Pymble head office established |
| 1998 | First low floor Mercedes buses are put on the road |
| 1999 | Ourimbah depot closes, staff & buses transfer to Kincumber |
| 2000 | Busways provides staff & buses for the Olympic Games transport |
| 2003 | Acquisition of Kings Bros services on the NSW North Coast Today Busways operates a bus fleet of over 600 |
| 2004 | Narellan depot officially opened by NSW Minister for Transport Services, the Hon. Michael Costa Busways head office relocates to new, larger premises in Gordon |
Administration and organisation
Each local bus depot concentrates on its own daily operations and bus maintenance, while head office looks after centralised administrative functions. An Operations Manager and operational support staff manage each depot at a local level. Many depots have a fully equipped workshop, a Workshop Manager and qualified, experienced mechanics. Routine maintenance requirements, including panel beating and spray painting are provided "in house". Major depots are also equipped with electronic brake testers, shakers and automatic bus washing equipment.
The following specialised departments within head office cope with the ever-increasing growth of Busways:
- Operations Administration
- Workshop Administration
- Scheduling
- Field Scheduling
- Planning
- Human Resources
- Marketing & Information
- Finance
- Payroll
The key to Busways success and consistent expansion is a strong and dedicated management team, combined with a long history of commitment to providing accessible quality transport services in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Transport planningThe Busways Group has always taken a proactive approach to public transport planning. This ensures that the new residential and industrial developments are built to permit the early provision of bus services. By maintaining a close relationship with State and Local governments, Busways has successfully contributed to planning policies which foster efficient public transport.
A prime example of this approach in the early 1990s was Busways close association with the planning and design of the $25 million bus/rail interchange at Blacktown. This modern facility gave Blacktown commuters in 1995 an excellent example of integrated public transport infrastructure, ready for the continuing expansion of the North West Sector.
Other bus/rail interchanges with which Busways staff has been vitally involved are those at Campbelltown, Mt Druitt, Woy Woy, Gosford and Wyong. As the prime operator of buses at each of these locations, Busways believes that modern facilities where passengers can transfer easily between bus and train will encourage public transport use.
Bus Safety
At Busways, we pride ourselves on our exceptional safety records. It is our highest priority to maintain and monitor all aspects of our fleet to ensure our safety standards are second to none.
As part of our commitment to safety, Busways employs experienced, qualified drivers who are trained to provide a safe and friendly service.
We have also developed a code of conduct for students who travel on our buses to help all passengers feel safe and have a comfortable ride.
Travelling on the bus is one of the safest ways to get to and from school. It is safer for children to take the bus to school than it is to walk, ride a bike or travel in the family car
To view Busways' safety brochure which provides information about school bus safety and some simple steps to help children remain safe whilst travelling to and from school, click here
Availability of Information
In order to honor our commitments to the Ministry of Transport and ensure that high levels of customer service and information accessibility are maintained, we must monitor the delivery of information and supply sufficient details of the operations of our business and the efforts taken to ensure accessible services and service provision are measured and contiually improved.
Please find below, Busways Accessible Transport Action Plan, Passengers Relations Plan and Environmental Management Plan.