Acknowledgements
Firstly to the late Vic Hayes, notable collector of information about bus operations throughout New South Wales during his lifetime. This website was inspired by a series of articles he wrote in 1974 on Sydney private bus routes and their operators in the Bus Club News, a journal published by pupils of North Sydney Boys High School (some time after I was a student there). Besides the content of those articles, I am grateful that he shared additional personal knowledge of bus proprietors around Sydney and elsewhere in the state. Vic sadly passed away on 13 June 2016.
Others who have assisted me in compiling sydneybusroutes.com including Ian Abbottsmith, Lindsay Addison-Jones, John Birchmeier, Ian Brady, Andy Chechlacz, John Clifton, Ron Drummond, Norbert Genci, Frank Goldthorpe, Eddie Hayman, Glen Hunter, Walter Knight, Patrick Lopez, Duncan Macauslan, Leon Manny, Ted McDonald, Bill Niven, Dennis O’Brien, Allan Ofak, Jim O’Neil, Greg Travers and Trevor Woolley. The website is also a tribute to those people (and any others I have inadvertently omitted), some of whom are no longer with us. All offered information and encouragement.
Overall objective of the website
To record brief histories of all motor bus routes and their operators in the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and other related background information.
Current objectives
- To extend histories of motor bus routes back to their first appearance in 1911.
- To record both the incorporated names and trading names (where relevant) of operators/proprietors.
- To continue research into histories of routes, particularly in outer suburban areas, when not shown in Government Gazettes or other official documents.
- To summarise more timetables, where appropriate.
- To receive assistance with any of the above.
Known users this website
- Transport enthusiasts
- Transport professionals
- People researching family histories
- Local district historians.
Sources
- Government Gazettes 1911-1930.
- Annual Reports of the Commissioner for Road Transport and Tramways 1933-1940.
- 1925 Doran Report.
- Information documents issued ahead of network or contract region changes.
- Enthusiast periodicals, HCVA Newsheet, Fleetline and Australian Bus (journals of the Historic Commercial Vehicle Association and Sydney Bus Museum).
- Other enthusiast publications, including books.
- Local suburban newspapers, accessed through Trove.
- Timetables and route maps in my collection.
- Selected Sydney street directories.
Notes about Timetable Summaries
- The summaries have been selected to show typical situations over the period of operation of a route, dependent on the availability of timetables.
- The Trip time column gives the weekday off-peak time in minutes. Peak hour trip times in more recent times are often greater, while those at night and on weekends are often less.
- The First trip and Last trip columns show the times for such trips over the whole length of the route between the two From points. Short-workings before and after those times are indicated with a note.
- The Average frequency column shows the frequency for off-peak periods on Mondays to Fridays and for throughout the day on weekends. For many routes the weekday peak frequency is greater, which is indicated with a note. Where a number of trips is shown, these trips were rather randomly spread throughout the period concerned.
- Picture buses typically arrived at the cinema by about 7.30pm and left again “after termination of the picture programme”, as was often noted in timetables. Such trips ceased soon after the introduction of television in 1956 and the greater use of private cars about the same time.
Assistance sought to expand the scope and accuracy of the website
This website is very much a “work in progress”. I am always grateful to receive further information, great or small, which can enhance the content of this website.
Please contact me at robkit.henderson@bigpond.com
Robert Henderson