Busabout Wagga Wagga is an Australian private bus company formed in 1916 as Fearnes Coaches, with depots in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

and

Harden, New South Wales Harden–Murrumburrah is a township and community in the Hilltops Region and is located in the South West Slopes of New South Wales in Australia. Harden is adjacent to both the Canberra region of the Australian Capital Territory and the Riv ...

History

Fearnes Coaches

Fearnes Coaches was founded by William Fearne and William Borlase in 1916 as a general carrier and charter bus operator, however Borlase pulled out of the partnership in the early 1920s. In 1927, William Fearne commenced the first route and timetable in Wagga Wagga between the suburb of

Turvey Park Turvey Park is an inner southern suburb of Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales, Australia. Its boundaries are defined by Fernleigh Road to the south, Glenfield Road to the west, Coleman Street to the north and to the east by Willans Hill. Tur ...

and Docker Street which was later extended to

North Wagga Wagga North Wagga Wagga (informally called North Wagga) is an inner northern suburb of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, located on the floodplain of the Murrumbidgee River, directly across from the city's Central Business District. North Wagga ...

.75 years - one family's tradition of service ''

Truck & Bus Transportation ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was a Sydney-based monthly trade magazine covering aspects of transport in Australia. Overview ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' was established in July 1936 by Frank Shennen as ''Transportation''. It was renamed ''T ...

'' September 1991 pages 54-59 In 1936, William Fearne's son Clive bought the company and ran it until his death in 1989. The business then passed to his son Garry, who died in 1996, leaving the business to his widow Audrey, who ran it until deciding to retire and sell the business in December 2008. In 1952, two school services were taken over from George Greely and a depot established in Harden. By 1969, the Harden fleet comprised eight buses. Extended touring to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

commenced in the 1960s, and in 1974 Fearnes began operating tours from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

as a contractor for Carah Coaches. In 1988, an express service to

was introduced followed in 1998 by a service to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In June 1990, Fearnes began coach services from

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

Tumbarumba Tumbarumba ( ) is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, about southwest of the state capital, Sydney. Tumbarumba is located on the periphery of the Riverina and South West Slopes regions at the western edge of the Snowy Mountains. The s ...

, Cootammudra to

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

and Wagga Wagga to Griffith under a contract with

CountryLink CountryLink was a passenger rail and road service brand that operated in regional areas New South Wales, Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne. Originally created as a business unit (or sub-brand) of the State Rail Authority of New South Wales, it l ...

. These were retained when re-tendered from December 1992. Upon being re-tendered, in January 2003 the

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

, Wagga Wagga to Echuca and Cootamundra to

Condobolin Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,486. History Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri pe ...

services all passed to King Brothers, the Cootamundra to Tumbarumba service to

Transborder Express Transborder Express is an Australian bus and coach company based in Yass. Since September 2012, Transborder Express has been owned by ComfortDelGro Australia. History Transborder Express was established in July 1954 by Jack Williams operating a ...

and the Wagga Wagga to Griffith service to Makeham Coaches. Following King Brothers being placed in administration, Fearnes took over its four CountryLink routes on 22 April 2003.

Sale to Busabout

On 5 December 2008, Fearnes Coaches was purchased by Sydney bus company Busabout and rebranded as Busabout Wagga Wagga in 2009. In February 2009, the coach service to Sydney was discontinued. In November 2013 Busabout commenced operating the services previously provided by

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer w ...

Fleet

As of December 2014, the fleet consisted of 57 buses and coaches.Busabout - Wagga and Harden
Australian Bus Fleet Lists Since taking over in December 2008, the Calabros have replaced over half of the fleet with a combination of buses transferred from their

Busabout Sydney Busabout Sydney is a bus company that operates route bus services in South West Sydney, Australia. It currently operates on behalf of Transport for NSW. History In November 1947, Sid Neville purchased route 58 Liverpool - Leppington - Rossmo ...

and Hawkesbury Valley Buses operations, second-hand purchases, most notably

Volvo B10M The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the ...

s from

Reservoir Bus Company Reservoir Bus Company was a privately owned bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Buses in Melbourne, Melbourne bus company, it operated 10 List of Melbourne bus routes, bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria. The ...

, and some new

Bustech BusTech Group is an Australian bus-building manufacturer with production facilities in Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Edinburgh Adelaide, South Australia and Burnie, Tasmania. BusTech Group produces fully built up integral route buses, school bus ...

bodied

Volvo B7R The Volvo B7R is a coach chassis available with a range of bodies. It is promoted as a rear engined lightweight coach chassis. It is primarily intended for tourist and long-distance duties. B7R is also manufactured in China, Brazil, Hungary, India ...

References

External links

{{Regional NSW public transport, state=collapsed Bus companies of New South Wales Transport companies established in 1916 Wagga Wagga Australian companies established in 1916