Longueville Motor Bus Company was an Australian bus company operating route bus services on

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 ...

's Lower North Shore.

History

On 23 October 1922, George Newman commenced operating a service from Longueville wharf to the corner of the Pacific Highway and

Epping Road Epping Road is a arterial road located on the North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Epping Road is a major route linking the lower North Shore and Sydney central business district to the north western suburbs of the upper North ...

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

. On 23 July 1923, the route was extended to Chatswood station.Public Service is Watchword of this Pioneer Sydney Busman ''

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 ...

'' February 1947 pages 12-15 On 14 January 1924, another service commenced from Tambourine Bay to Milsons Point wharf via Lane Cove and the Pacific Highway. This service ceased on 31 December 1926, the day before legislation required all buses be fitted with pneumatic tyres and transverse seating. With legislation likely to soom force services competing with

trams A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

to cease, Newman decided to concentrate his resources on the Longueville to Chatswood service which in 1927 was allocated the route number 127. On 8 May 1927, Newman commenced operating route 95

Gladesville Gladesville is a suburb in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 10 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Ryde a ...

to Lane Cove that had previously been operated by White Transit Company. It was extended to Chatswood station on 16 January 1930. On 1 September 1927, the business was incorporated as Longueville Motor Bus Company (LMBC). By 1929, the Harbour Bridge was at an advanced state of construction, but the

State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

had decreed that buses and trams would be banned from using the bridge when it opened. On 17 May 1929, LMBC commenced operating an unauthorised service from Lane Cove to

York Street York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...

in the

Sydney CBD The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or city centre is often refer ...

via the Five Bridges (

Fig Tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending int ...

Iron Cove Iron Cove is a bay on the Parramatta River, in the Inner West (Sydney), inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately due west of Sydney central business district, Sydney's central business district. It i ...

Glebe Island Glebe Island was a major port facility in Sydney Harbour and, in association with the adjacent White Bay facility, was the primary receiving venue for imported cars and dry bulk goods in the region until 2008. It is surrounded by White, Johnsto ...

and Pyrmont) route using luxury

Fageol Fageol Motors was a United States manufacturer of buses, trucks and farm tractors. History The company was founded in 1916, in Oakland, California, by Rollie, William, Frank and Claude Fageol, to manufacture motor trucks, farm tractors and au ...

parlour coaches. Although well patronised, as an unauthorised service LMBC incurred fines on a daily basis and these made the service unprofitable. The service ceased on or about 31 August 1929. Following

Sydney Ferries Limited Sydney Ferries Limited operated ferry services on Sydney Harbour from 1900 until June 1951. The company grew out of the North Shore Steam Ferry Company and took over smaller ferry operators to become the largest ferry operator in Sydney's his ...

withdrawing off-peak

Lane Cove River The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river is a tributary of the Parramatta River, winding throu ...

services, on 2 September 1946 LMBC filled the void with a ferry chartered from Stannard Brothers. However it was not viable and ceased at the end of the initial three-month trial. On 23 December 1946, LMBC began operating an off-peak service from Longueville to Wynyard. Neighbouring operator JH Hales commenced a similar service from Northwood on the same date, both services sharing a common route via River Road. Following Sydney Ferries Limited withdrawing its remaining services, the service was extended to operate in peak hours on 13 November 1950. On 8 July 1955, route 95 was sold to Hunters Hill Bus Company who had operated in competition with LMBC between Gladesville and Fig Tree, and from 1948 between Lane Cove and Chatswood station. On 29 June 1968, Newman's widow sold the business to

Deanes Coaches Deanes Coaches was an Australian bus company operating route bus services and charter coaches on Sydney's North Shore. History Deanes Coaches was formed in August 1955 as Turramurra-Bobbin Head Bus Service when Ron Deane purchase route 166 T ...

Routes

The routes at the time the business was sold were: *127: Longueville - Chatswood station *127: Longueville - Wynyard station

Fleet

At the time of the sale to Deanes Coaches, the fleet comprised three Daimlers and one

Bedford OB The Bedford OB was a bus chassis manufactured by Bedford from 1939. History The Bedford OB was designed as a successor to the Bedford WTB. It had a wheelbase of , and was a semi-forward control model, designed to carry 26 to 29-passenger body ...

Depot

The depot was originally at the rear of Newman's house in Dunois Street, Longueville. In the late 1930s, a two-level fully covered depot was built at

Blaxlands Corner Blaxlands Corner is a locality on the North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blaxlands Corner is at the intersection of Longueville Road, Northwood Road, and River Road West, in the southern part of Lane Cove adjacen ...

. After being vacated by Deanes Coaches, it was converted into office space before being demolished in 2021.16 Northwood Road
Real Commercial

References

{{Reflist Bus companies of New South Wales Bus transport in Sydney Defunct bus companies of Australia Transport companies established in 1922 Transport companies disestablished in 1968 1922 establishments in Australia 1968 disestablishments in Australia