ACTION

ACTION is a bus operator in Canberra, Australia owned by the ACT Government.

This article is about an Australian bus operator. For the U.S. government agency, see ACTION (U.S. government agency). For other uses, see Action.

Bustech bodied Scania K320UB at City Interchange in January 2018
ParentTransport Canberra and City Services Directorate
Founded1926 (1926) by Federal Capital Commission as Canberra City Omnibus Service
Commenced operation19 July 1926
HeadquartersGreenway
LocaleCanberra
Service typeBus services
HubsCity Interchange
Depots3
Fleet464 (October 2020)
Annual ridership17.8 million (2015/16)
Chief Operating OfficerBren Burkevics
Websitewww.transport.act.gov.au

History
Ansair bodied Mercedes-Benz O305 at Spence in 1982
Ansair bodied Renault PR100.2
Custom Coaches bodied Irisbus Agora Line at Gungahlin Town Centre in January 2010
Custom Coaches bodied MAN 18.320 on Blue Rapid route 313
Custom Coaches bodied Scania K320UB at City Interchange in July 2012
Custom Coaches bodied Scania K360UA in Wagga Wagga in September 2012

On 19 July 1926, the Federal Capital Commission commenced operating public bus services between Eastlake (now Kingston) in the south and Ainslie in the north.[1]

The service was first known as Canberra City Omnibus Service, but it has had a number of names over the years, including Canberra City Bus Service, Canberra Omnibus Service and Canberra Bus Service. On 14 February 1977, it was renamed as the Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network, or ACTION for short.[1][2]

In 1976, Canberra became the first city in Australia to operate articulated buses after the purchase of 25 MAN SG192s.[3]

As part of the move to ACT self-government, responsibility for ACTION passed from the Federal Government to the ACT Government in 1989.

Network 2019

In June 2018, the ACT Government released a proposal for changes to the bus network to coincide with the opening of the Light Rail which included a 7-day network with 10 rapid routes and an overhaul of the route numbers.[4] The proposed changes caused controversy due to changes to school services and the removal of all Xpresso services.[5] Public consultation for the proposal lasted between June and August 2018 and a modified proposal was released in October 2018.[6][7] The starting date of the new bus network was pushed back to 29 April 2019 due to delays on the construction of the Light Rail.[8]

Corporate Structure

ACTION is a business unit of the Public Transport Division of the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate of the ACT Government. Transport Canberra was formed on 1 July 2016 combining the Public Transport Division and Capital Metro Agency to manage all public transport operations within the ACT.[9][10][11]

Current routes

ACTION operates a 7-day network of bus routes including 9 main routes and 48 local routes.[12]

R2

Route R2 is a limited stop service between Fraser, Kippax, Belconnen, City, Parkes, Barton and Iron Knob Street, Fyshwick (at the Canberra Outlet Centre).

It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[13]

R3

Route R3 is a limited stop service between Spence, Belconnen, City, Russell Offices and Canberra Airport.

It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[14]

R4

Route R4 services provide a high-frequency link between Belconnen, City, Woden and Tuggeranong.

It operates at a 5 to 10-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[15]

R5

Route R5 is a high-frequency link between the City, Woden, Erindale Centre, Calwell Centre and Lanyon Marketplace.

It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[16]

R6

Route R6 is a high-frequency link between the City, Parkes, Barton, Kingston, Manuka, Narrabundah, the Canberra Hospital and Woden.

It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[17]

R7

Route R7 is an express link between the City, Cooleman Court and Chapman.

It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[18]

R8

Route R8 is a direct main route between the Gungahlin Town Centre and the bus stations at Belconnen.

It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[19]

R9

Route R9 is an east-west link between Belconnen, Canberra Stadium, Dickson and Watson.

It operates at a 15-minute frequency on weekdays and it operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekends and public holidays.[20]

R10

Route R10 is a direct link between Denman Prospect and the City.

It operates at a 30-minute frequency on weekdays, weekends and public holidays.[21]

Regular route services

ACTION's regular weekday services operate either as feeder services to a single town centre or connect two or three town centres via suburban streets.

During weekends and public holidays, ACTION provides a reduced level of service with most suburban routes operating with an hourly or two-hourly frequency.

Other peak services

ACTION operates 3 weekday peak hour routes as an express service between outer suburbs of Tuggeranong and the City. These routes are numbered in the 100 series.

School services

School services are provided by ACTION to schools and colleges throughout the ACT. These are numbered in the 1000 and 2000 series.[22]

Special needs transport

ACTION also operates the special needs transport division which provides transport for school students with a disability. This division is operated using a dedicated fleet of wheelchair-accessible minibuses.

Flexible bus service

The Flexible bus service operates on weekdays to provide a free, basic bus service to passengers with limited access to normal public transport options.[23] Six services operate daily providing a pick up service in the morning from designated suburbs to shopping centres and hospitals, with return services operating in the afternoon.

These bus services are operated by the special needs transport minibuses.

Ticketing

Cash fares

There are four cash fare options on ACTION:

  • Adult Single (with 90-minute transfer)
  • Adult Daily
  • Concession Single (with 90-minute transfer)
  • Concession Daily

Concession tickets are available to school students, full-time tertiary students, seniors card holders and various government concession card holders.[24]

Pre-paid fares
Main article: MyWay (ticketing system)

The pre-paid ticketing system operated by the ACT Government is known as MyWay.[25] It uses contactless smart cards with MIFARE-Technology onto which credit is loaded. Passengers are required to 'tag on' when boarding the bus and 'tag off' when exiting, at which point the appropriate fare is calculated and, if required, deducted from the stored value on the MyWay card.

The MyWay system uses Parkeon software and equipment including Wayfarer 200 consoles[26] and Axio card readers.[27] The system was built and installed by Parkeon's Australian distributor, Downer EDi.[28] Instead of being developed from scratch, MyWay was adapted from Transperth's SmartRider system which also uses Parkeon hardware and software.[29][30]

Fleet

As at January 2021, ACTION's route service fleet consisted of 463 buses.[31]

Chassis Body Type Air con Notes Number in service Orders
Renault PR100.2 Ansair Metro[32] Step entrance rigid, Diesel ✓ Branded as Macks 41
Irisbus Agora Custom Coaches CB60[33] Low-floor rigid, Euro II Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ One withdrawn after a fire, originally ordered by King Brothers 19
Scania L94UB Custom Coaches CB60[34] Low-floor rigid, CNG ✓ ✓ ✓ 54
MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-NL Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II[35] Low-floor rigid, CNG ✓ ✓ ✓ 16
MAN A69 18.310 HOCL-R-NL Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II Low-floor rigid, Euro IV Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ 2
MAN A69 18.320 HOCL-NL/E5 Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II[36] Low-floor rigid, Euro V Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ 87
Scania K320UB 6x2*4 Custom Coaches CB60 Evo II[37] Low-floor rigid tri-axle (steerable-tag), Euro V Diesel ✓ ✓ 26
Scania K360UA 6x2/2 Custom CB80[38] Low-floor articulated, Euro V/EEV Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ Fitted with bike racks in June 2017[39] 33
Scania K320UB 4x2 Custom CB80 Low-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ 82
Scania K320UB 4x2 Bustech VST Low-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ [40] 70
Scania K360UA 6x2/2 Volgren Optimus Low-floor articulated, Euro VI/EEV Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ 11
Scania K320UB 4x2 Volgren Optimus Low-floor rigid, Euro VI Diesel ✓ ✓ ✓ 20
Hino Poncho Low-floor midibus, Euro V Diesel ✓ ✓ Only operates on route 903 2

Bicycle racks have been fitted to the front of 94% of the buses in the fleet. Each rack can hold two bicycles. Passengers may load a bicycle onto the rack for free, but must pay a regular fare to travel on the bus.[41]

Apart from buses with all over advertising or special designs, ACTION's fleet sport either a blue, orange and white (Renault buses) or a green, orange and white livery (all other buses). In December 2016, a predominantly blue livery was introduced.[42][43]

ACTION's Special Needs Transport division operates a fleet of eighteen Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa minibuses. These buses are white in colour and do not operate on route services.

ACTION also operate Toyota Hiace Commuter and Hyundai iMax vans which can be used to transport passengers, Hino Dutro trucks used by mechanics to attend broken down buses and a single Mack tow truck.

ACTION's heritage fleet consists of a 1949 AEC Regal III[44] and a 1961 AEC Reliance.

Infrastructure

Depots
Belconnen Bus Depot in November 2009

ACTION operates three depots:

  • Woden Bus Depot, Prospect Court, Phillip opened 16 April 1974,[1] closing in February 1997[45] before reopening in 2009.[46] It currently houses the Special Needs Transport minibus fleet and buses which are not in service. Demolished in 2018 with a new depot built.[47][48]
  • Belconnen Bus Depot, Cohen Street, Belconnen opened 3 September 1979,[1] includes a bus wash, workshop, undercover bus parking, diesel refill, drivers amenities and administrative area.
  • Tuggeranong Bus Depot, Scollay Street, Greenway opened in August 1989,[49] includes a bus wash, workshop, undercover bus parking, CNG and diesel fuelling facilities, drivers amenities and administrative area.

Bus Stations
Belconnen Community Bus Station in January 2011

ACTION operates seven bus stations, which act as hubs for the districts of Canberra.[50]

City Interchange is located on East Row, Mort Street and Alinga Street. Limited local access is permitted on Mort and Alinga Streets, while East Row is a bus-only street. Since April 2019, several major routes stop in the part of Aligna Street to the west of Northbourne Avenue, but it continued to be open to traffic until 26 July 2019. Woden and Tuggeranong Interchange are off street stations which permit access only to buses, essential traffic and emergency vehicles.

Belconnen Town Centre is serviced by two bus stations located along Cohen Street: Cohen Street Bus Station (located outside the Belconnen Bus Depot near the intersection with Josephson Street, opened in May 2009)[54][55] and Belconnen Community Bus Station (located between Benjamin Way and Emu Bank, at the site of the former Belconnen Interchange, opened in November 2010).[56] In addition, a major stop is located outside Westfield Belconnen, near the intersection of Cohen and Lathlain Streets. All bus routes travelling to or through Belconnen Town Centre service all three locations. Additional stops are located on Emu Bank and Eastern Valley Way which are serviced by most routes which travel through Belconnen Town Centre.[57]

Bus shelters
Concrete bunker shelter outside Old Parliament House, Parkes
Main article: Concrete bus shelters in Canberra

Bus shelters installed at stops include what is referred to as a "concrete bunker" which were first installed in May 1975.[58] More modern shelters include glass-sided Adshel shelters (both with and without advertising) which were first installed in 2007[59] and CAM (Community Asset Management NZ Limited) shelters which were first installed in 2012.[60]

References
  1. "Canberra's Engineering Heritage". Engineering Heritage Australia. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  2. Bus Canberra Times 15 February 1977 page 3
  3. The evolution of articulated buses in Canberra ACT Bus
  4. "More services, fewer stops: check out Canberra's new bus network". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  5. "What will Canberra's new bus network mean for students?". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  6. "A New Bus Network For Canberra". ACT Government - Yoursay. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  7. "ACT Government announces new plans for bus network following public backlash". RiotAct. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  8. "Canberra's bus network pushed back after light rail delays". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  9. "Transport Canberra - Public Transport Improvement Plan 2015" (PDF). ACT Government. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2016.
  10. Lawson, Kirsten; McIlroy, Tom (27 October 2015). "ACTION and Capital Metro Agency to be rolled into one from 2016". The Canberra Times.
  11. Transport Canberra Service Australasian Bus & Coach 5 July 2016
  12. Timetables Transport Canberra
  13. Route R2 Transport Canberra
  14. Route R3 Transport Canberra
  15. Route R4 Transport Canberra
  16. Route R5 Transport Canberra
  17. Route R6 Transport Canberra
  18. Route R7 Transport Canberra
  19. Route R8 Transport Canberra
  20. Route R9 Transport Canberra
  21. Route R10 Transport Canberra
  22. School Routes By Number Transport Canberra
  23. "Accessible Public Transport". Transport for Canberra. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  24. "Concessions". Transport for Canberra. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  25. "MyWay". ACT Government - Transport For Canberra. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  26. "Wayfarer 200". Parkeon. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  27. "Axio". Parkeon. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  28. "Parkeon wins again down under" (Press release). Parkeon. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  29. Banks, Lisa (24 August 2011). "Canberra MyWay user base reaches 86,000". Computerworld. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  30. WA ticket validating machine system for Canberra buses Government of Western Australia 31 May 1993
  31. Fleet Summary ACT Bus Wiki
  32. "Renault PR100.2 Mk II" (PDF). ACTION. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  33. "Irisbus Agoraline CB60 Low Floor - Diesel" (PDF). ACTION. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  34. "Scania L94UB CB60 Low Floor - CNG" (PDF). ACTION. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  35. "MAN A69 18.310 HOCLNL CNG Low Floor" (PDF). ACTION. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  36. "MAN A69 18.320 HOUCL-R-NL Diesel Low Floor" (PDF). ACTION. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  37. "Scania K320UB 14.5m 6x2*4 CB60 Low Floor Diesel" (PDF). ACTION. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  38. "Scania K360UA 6x2/2 CB80 Low Floor EEV Diesel" (PDF). ACTION. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  39. "Bike Racks to be fitted to articulated buses". Transport Canberra. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  40. 40 new diesel-powered buses to join Transport Canberra's fleet The Canberra Times
  41. "Bike Racks on Buses". ACTION. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  42. New ACTION buses to be blue, light rail trams to be red Canberra Times 14 December 2016
  43. New Transport Canberra Livery Australasian Bus & Coach 20 December 2016
  44. "Entry to the ACT Heritage Register" (PDF). ACT Heritage Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  45. "Australian Capital Territory - ACTION" Australian Bus Panorama issue 12/6 June 1997 page 22
  46. Recommendation 22 Report on Inquiry into ACTION Buses and the Sustainable Transport Plan ACT Government October 2009
  47. Preliminary Design Consultancy for the new Woden Bus Depot ACT Government December 2017
  48. Old Woden bus depot to be demolished to make way for storehouse for 120 buses Canberra Times 14 January 2018
  49. New Depot Opens Fleetline October 1989 page 154
  50. "Network Maps and Station Guides". Transport Canberra. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  51. No timetable changes, adequate transfer time Canberra Times 22 November 1982 page 15
  52. Improved bus service at Woden Canberra Times 29 November 1972 page 11
  53. Advertisement Canberra Times 10 August 1991 page 5
  54. Belconnen Town Centre Developments ACTION Bus Timetable & Route Changes (Advertisement) Canberra City News 14 May 2009
  55. 3 stops to replace Belconnen interchange ABC News 25 May 2009
  56. Change at the interchange - the new Belconnen bus facilities ABC Radio Canberra 11 November 2010
  57. "Improvements to Belconnen Town Centre". ACT Planning and Land Authority. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  58. "[No heading]". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 14 May 1975. p. 9. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  59. "AdShel wins ACT tender". B & T. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  60. "Case Study - Canberra ACT bus shelters". CAM Shelters. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
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