McHarry's Buslines is a family-owned bus company in Geelong,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, dating back to 1932. It operates

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

bus routes in Geelong, and on the

Bellarine Peninsula The Bellarine Peninsula ( Wathawurrung: ''Balla-wein'' or ''Biteyong'') is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington ...

and the Surf Coast, as well as school bus and charter services. The company's main depot is in Breakwater, and there are smaller depots in Apollo Bay,

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, Ocean Grove, Queenscliff and Drysdale. There used to be a depot in Portarlington, but it has been replaced by the one at Drysdale.

History

The origins of McHarry's Buslines date back to 1932, when John McHarry was employed at

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

's Geelong plant as a coach-builder. He transported his own employees to the plant in his truck, and it wasn't long before he was inundated with requests from other Ford workers for a ride to work. The current managing director of the company, also called John McHarry, is the grandson of the original owner. His son, Ashley McHarry, is the company's general manager.

Livery

Following the inauguration of the

Geelong Transit System The Geelong Transit System (GTS) was the operating brand of public transport in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It was a joint venture between the Kefford Corporation's Benders Busways, (since 2008 CDC Geelong) and McHarry's Buslines. From 2009, ...

(GTS) in the early 1980s, McHarry's public transport buses were obliged to be painted in the GTS livery. After 2000, however, the company's contract with the

Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

no longer required its GTS buses to wear the system livery, and so buses were progressively re-painted with McHarry's own new livery.

Fleet

As at June 2022, the company's fleet consisted of 225 buses.

References

{{Reflist Bus companies of Victoria (Australia) Transport in Geelong Australian companies established in 1932 Transport companies established in 1932 Family-owned companies of Australia