Parramatta-Ryde Bus Service was an Australian bus company operating route bus services and charter coaches in

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 ...

History

The origins of Parramatta-Ryde Bus Service can be traced back to 1896 when Alf Wigzell commenced a horse bus service along Victoria Road between

Ryde station Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

and Ermington. In 1915, the route was sold to Mr Howell and the first motor bus introduced. Howell sold out to William Henry, who in turn sold out to RB Staunton. In 1925 the route was allocated number 173.Parramatta-Ryde Bus Services & Trailer Tours '' Australian Bus'' issue 70 July 2015 pages 12-19 On 27 April 1927, the business was purchased by Bill Phillips. By this stage route 173 had been extended to Parramatta station. After Phillips died in 1949, the business was taken over by his son Bill. In June 1950, the business was incorporated as Parramatta-Ryde Bus Service with Phillips and his wife being the major shareholders with managers Des Kennedy and Ivan Ferris each having smaller shareholdings. The Parramata-Ryde Bus Service trading name was adopted in the 1950s, with the charter operation becoming Trailer Tours.Parramatta-Ryde Bus Service
Australian Bus Fleet Lists In August 1950, the Department of Motor Transport asked Phillips to take over the operation of routes 98 and 105 from Granville station to South Granville and Sefton station. In August 1958, both were sold to

Delwood Coaches Delwood Coaches was an Australian bus company operating services in Granville, Western Sydney. History Delwood Coaches was founded as Delwood Bus Company in 1958 by Jim Newport and Carl Tattam.Silverwater Bridge Silverwater Bridge is a concrete box girder bridge that spans the Parramatta River west of the central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge carries Silverwater Road (A6) over the river to link Silverwater in t ...

, Parramatta-Ryde began operating a service from Parramatta station via Silverwater Road to

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. With Willcox Bus Service extending its

Silverwater Silverwater is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Silverwater is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district on the southern bank of the Parramatta River within the local governme ...

routes across the bridge to Ermington, both found their routes unprofitable, and in January 1963 agreed to retreat to their respective sides of the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...

. In February 1976, Phillips retired and Kennedy and Ferris took over the business. On 19 January 1981, Parramatta Ryde Bus Service and

North & Western Bus Lines North & Western Bus Lines was an Australian bus company operating route bus services and charter coaches in Sydney. History The origins of North & Western Bus Lines can be traced back to the late 1920s when Richard Smith formed Hunters Hill B ...

commenced operating ''Red Arrow'' route 333 from Parramatta station to Chatswood station. From 1990, the route was solely operated by Parramatta Ryde Bus Service. On 8 March 1993, route 406 Auburn station to Ermington was purchased from Auburn Coaches. On 1 June 1993, Kennedy sold his share in the business to North & Western Bus Lines proprietor Ken Butt. On 20 April 1998, route 555 commenced operating from Parramatta station to

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...

on behalf of the Olympic Roads & Transport Authority. On 13 December 1999, Butt's share in the business was included in the sale of North & Western Bus Lines to the

State Transit Authority The State Transit Authority of New South Wales, also referred to as State Transit, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales operating bus services in Sydney. Superseding the Urban Transit Authority in 1989, it was also responsible for ...

. On 28 February 2000, Ivan Ferris also sold his share to the State Transit Authority with the operation incorporated into its Ryde depot.

Routes

The routes at the time the business was sold were: *333: Parramatta station - Chatswood station *406: Auburn station - Ermington *540: Parramatta station - West Ryde station *555: Parramatta station -

Fleet

From the mid-1940s, Parramatta-Ryde operated a fleet of trailer buses. This gave lend to the ''Trailer Tours'' name that was used for its charter operations. Until 1987, Parramatta-Ryde built its own bodies on

Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

AEC Reliance The AEC Reliance was a mid-underfloor mounted engined single-decker bus and coach chassis manufactured by AEC between 1953 and 1979. The name had previously been used between 1928 and 1931 for another single-decker bus chassis. History Two p ...

s, Leyland Leopards and

MAN SL200 The MAN SL200 was a transit bus manufactured by MAN between 1973 and 1988, and was based on the first generation German VöV-Standard-Bus body design. More than 5500 units were built of the standard left-hand drive version. There were also severa ...

s.Down but not out ''Truck & Bus Transportation'' May 1981 pages 58-60 Parramatta-Ryde Bus Service operated 23 buses and three coaches at the time of its sale.

References

{{Automotive industry in Australia Bus companies of New South Wales Bus transport in Sydney Defunct bus companies of Australia Transport companies established in 1896 Transport companies disestablished in 2000 1896 establishments in Australia 2000 disestablishments in Australia