Murrays Coaches is an Australian express and coach charter company.

History

Murrays Coaches - BCI JXK6137 'Explorer' (1)

Murrays was founded by Bill Murray in the early 1950s as a school bus operator in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. The operation was taken over by Ron Murray in 1970 by which time it was operating services to Captains Flat, Kowen Forest, Naas,

Tidbinbilla Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is a protected area, on the fringe of Namadgi National Park. Tidbinbilla is a short drive from the capital city of Australia, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The nature reserve consists of a large val ...

, Uriarra and Williamsdale with 10 buses. Murrays were operating seven school buses when the services were taken over by Deane's Buslines in November 1997. At some point Murrays diversified into coach operation, initially to the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...

. By the mid-1980s Murrays were operating interstate services from Canberra to

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 ...

, Wollongong and

Narooma Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south. The name Naro ...

. These services continue today. In May 1979, Murrays purchased Sydney bus routes 6 Arncliffe to Earlwood and 49

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

to Rockdale. These were sold in October 1982 to Brighton Bus Lines after the laws requiring tourist vehicle licences to be attached to route service operators were relaxed. In late 1988, an operation commenced on the Gold Coast followed in 1989 by Melbourne. Murrays expanded rapidly in the early 1990s, capitalising on the growth of inbound tourism and the departure of some of its rivals. In May 1998 the Koala Tours business in Sydney was purchased. In May 2015, Murrays commenced operating a service in Queensland from

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is the primary international airport serving Brisbane and South East Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, in total amounting to more than 22.7 million passeng ...

Fleet

Murrays initial coach fleet was built up with ex Ansett Pioneer GMC PD4107s and Mercedes-Benz O302 and O303s. In the mid 1980s Murrays purchased a number of new Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Austral coaches. Following the collapse of Deluxe Coachlines and

Sunliner Express Sunliner Express was an Australian interstate coach operator. History Sunliner Express was formed in 1986 when the Brisbane to Cairns licence of VIP Express was purchased."Sunliner Express - The High Deck Legacy" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 9/2 ...

amongst others, Murrays was able to renew its fleet with large numbers of near-new Austral, Denning and Scania coaches. In the mid-1990s it took delivery of 120 PMC Australia bodied MANs and Scanias. Between 2008 and 2011, Murrays conducted a major fleet renewal purchasing over 60

BCI BCI may refer to: Organizations * Bar Council of India * Barts Cancer Institute, London, UK * Bat Conservation International * Battery Council International, American trade association * BCI, an investigative law enforcement agency for the U.S. ...

coaches. As at January 2020, the fleet consisted of 199 vehicles.Murrays Coaches
Australian Bus Fleet List Until the early 1990s, Murrays had a livery of three greens and black when a new livery of white with green signwriting was adopted.

References

External links

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{{Regional NSW public transport Bus companies of Australia Companies based in Canberra