Punchbowl Bus Company
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Punchbowl Bus Company is an Australian bus company operating services 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 ...
Region 5, servicing the Hurstville, Roselands, Bankstown, Strathfield and surrounding suburbs. It also operates bus services in
Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
and
Crookwell Crookwell is a small town located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Upper Lachlan Shire. At the , Crookwell had a population of 2,641. The town is at a relatively high altitude of 887 metres and there are several sn ...
in the
Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cleared and ...
as PBC Goulburn and PBC Crookwell.


History


Before 1960

About Us
Punchbowl Bus Company
Punchbowl Bus Co (PBC) started off as DeLuxe Bus Service run by PM (Pat) Geoghegan in 1943. *July 1943 Route 188 Punchbowl -
Mortdale Mortdale is a suburb located in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mortdale is located 20 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Mortdale is situated in the ...
transferred from Boatwright. *29 April 1946 Route 29 Peakhurst -
Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
commenced *May 1946 Route 28 Punchbowl -
Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
transferred from Leach and Mallam *18 August 1947 route 33 Punchbowl -
Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
commenced and route 36 Punchbowl -
Mortdale Mortdale is a suburb located in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mortdale is located 20 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Mortdale is situated in the ...
split from route 188. *Late 1947 DeLuxe incorporated as Punchbowl Bus Co. *30 June 1952 Routes 28 and 33 transferred to Narwee Bus Co. *1956 Geoghehan died and Miss P Fitzpatrick took over. *January or February 1957 route 140 Riverwood -
Lugarno Lugarno is a suburb in the St George area of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the local government area of the Georges River Council, 23 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district ...
separated from route 36. *October 1958 All routes transferred to owners of Narwee Bus Co / GP Bus Co. GP Bus Co/Narwee Bus Co. *Owned by WH Griffin, CV Griffin and FS (Fred) Pobje. GP are the initial of Griffin and Pobje. *Buses owned by GP were signwritten Narwee Bus Co suggesting a close relation between these two entities. *Believed to have started 30 June 1952 when routes 28 and 33 were transferred from PBC to one of these entities. *11 May 1955 Routes 4
Greenacre Greenacre, a suburb of local government areas City of Canterbury-Bankstown and the Municipality of Strathfield, is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a pa ...
-
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, 189 Punchbowl -
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
and 190
Greenacre Greenacre, a suburb of local government areas City of Canterbury-Bankstown and the Municipality of Strathfield, is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a pa ...
- Punchbowl were transferred from XL Transport to GP Bus Co. *October 1958 Owners of Narwee Bus Co / GP Bus Co took over PBC adopting the Punchbowl Bus Co name and livery for the full operation but using the Narwee Bus Co depot. However between 1958 and 1992 various timetables were still issued in the Narwee/GP names.


Since 1960

By 1961, weekday routes 4 and 190 were combined to operate as route 4 between Bankstown and Punchbowl. Sunday route 190 trips between Punchbowl and
Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest List of necropolises, necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest ...
finished up either at Easter or
Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...
1961. In 1967, routes 4 and 28 were combined into route 244, operating between Bankstown and Hurstville via Chullora,
Greenacre Greenacre, a suburb of local government areas City of Canterbury-Bankstown and the Municipality of Strathfield, is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a pa ...
, Punchbowl and
Roselands Roselands is a suburb to the south-western Sydney, south-west of the Sydney CBD, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Roselands is located 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the City of Canterbury-Banksto ...
to give residents in the Greenacre/Chullora area direct access to the new
Roselands Shopping Centre Roselands Shopping Centre (previously known as Centro Roselands) is a shopping centre in the suburb of Roselands in South Western Sydney. Transport Roselands Shopping Centre has bus connections to Greater Western Sydney, Inner West, St George ...
. Later when Punchbowl Bus Company took over route 37 Punchbowl -
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, this route was integrated with route 33 Punchbowl -
Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
to operate between
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
and Hurstville via Punchbowl and Roselands. During the late 1960s route 189 was extended from Punchbowl to Roselands, Riverwood and
Lugarno Lugarno is a suburb in the St George area of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the local government area of the Georges River Council, 23 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district ...
replacing route 140, which initially operated between Riverwood and
Lugarno Lugarno is a suburb in the St George area of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the local government area of the Georges River Council, 23 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district ...
. In January 1992, Revesby Bus & Coach Service's route 26 was replaced by an extension of route 188 from Punchbowl to
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, and route 36 was amended to travel along the route of 26 at the Punchbowl end. In 1989 route 108 was purchased from Southtrans. In August 1997, the routes were renumbered into the
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 ...
wide scheme, including minor changes to routes. The new routes were: *940 replacing 29 and 33 *941 replacing 244 *942 replacing 189 *943 replacing 29 and 108 *944 replacing 29 and 36 *945 replacing 188 In April 1998, Punchbowl Bus Co purchased Canterbury Bus Lines with routes 450 Hurstville -
Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...
and 451 Roselands - Campsie. Route 451 was extended to Hurstville later that year when part of route 947 was acquired from
Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...
creating a direct service from Hurstville to Campsie. The remainder of route 947 to
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
was taken over by Southtrans. In December 2004, route 74/106
Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
-
Kyle Bay Kyle Bay is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kyle Bay is 19 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of thGeorges River Counciland is part of the St Geor ...
and
Connells Point Connells Point is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Connells Point is 20 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of in the local government area of the Georges River Counc ...
was taken over from
Harris Park Transport Harris Park Transport
(renumbered 953) and 954
Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...
- Hurstville Grove and Oatley from Moore's Tours. In July 2005 routes 446
Roselands Shopping Centre Roselands Shopping Centre (previously known as Centro Roselands) is a shopping centre in the suburb of Roselands in South Western Sydney. Transport Roselands Shopping Centre has bus connections to Greater Western Sydney, Inner West, St George ...
-
Kogarah Kogarah () is a suburb of Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kogarah is located 14 kilometres (9 miles) south-west of the Sydney central business district and is considered to be the centre of the St George, New South ...
and 447 Belmore -
Greenacre Greenacre, a suburb of local government areas City of Canterbury-Bankstown and the Municipality of Strathfield, is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a pa ...
were taken over from Pleasure Tours. In March 2010, Punchbowl Bus Company implemented another route numbering reconfiguration as part of the integrated transport network planning process. This was done in order to provide more frequent and direct services. As a result, routes 447 and 451 were discontinued and many of the other routes modified. Several new routes were established, including the 939, 946 and 955. Punchbowl Bus Company also introduced the S14, a new service between Lakemba and Mount Lewis. Network changes from 26 November 2017 saw route 944 truncated to run between Bankstown and Mortdale, as well as route 450 now only running between Strathfield and Hurstville and route 946 now only running between Bankstown and Roselands. On 1 March 2018, Nightride service N20 was extended to continue into Town Hall via Sydney Airport instead of terminating at Rockdale.


Operations

The company operations are divided into three brands: *Punchbowl Bus Company - for Sydney services *PBC Goulburn *PBC Crookwell Since 2005, Punchbowl's services have formed Sydney Bus Region 5. In August 2013, Punchbowl successfully tendered to operate Region 5 for another five years from July 2014. Punchbowl for many years also operated a coach charter operation in Sydney. This had ceased by 2012 but still carries on with local charters using existing city buses in the fleet. In November 2008, Punchbowl purchased
Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
Bus Service using the name PBC Goulburn followed in October 2009 by neighbouring Noack's Bus Service. The runs of Crookwell Bus Service were taken over on 20 November 2017, using the name PBC Crookwell.


Depots

Punchbowl Bus Company has two depots. The main depot located at 56 Hannans Road, Riverwood, was the original depot of the Narwee Bus Company. A secondary depot operates from 187-189 Bonds Road, Riverwood. The former secondary depot was located at 60 Belmore Road, Punchbowl and closed when the new Bonds Road depot opened. The Hannans Road depot can fit around 50 - 52 vehicles and the Bonds Road depot can fit around 23 -25 vehicles at maximum capacity.


Fleet

As of July 2022, the fleet consists of 74 buses. Until the late 1980s, Punchbowl Bus Company were a loyal Leyland buyer. Following their withdrawal from the market, Hino,
MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
,
Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...
and Volvos have been purchased. Punchbowl Bus Company operated Denning and later
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
and
MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
coaches in its charter division. From its foundation in 1952, the fleet livery was red and cream. In 2010, the
Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...
white and blue livery began to be applied on the Sydney bus fleet. There is only one bus on route service which still wears the Punchbowl Bus Co. livery, m/o 809. All other vehicles in the Punchbowl Bus Co. livery are now used on charter work, train replacement etc. PBC Goulburn and PBC Crookwell fleet continues to bear the Punchbowl Bus Co. livery. File:Transport NSW liveried (mo 164), operated by Punchbowl Bus Co, Custom Coaches 'CB80' bodied Volvo B7RLE at Central station.jpg, Custom Coaches 'CB80' bodied Volvo B7RLE in current Transport for NSW livery File:Punchbowl Bus Co (mo 693) Austral Pacific bodied Scania L113CRL at Central station.jpg, Austral Pacific bodied Scania L113CRL in old livery (decommissioned) File:Punchbowl Bus Co (mo 5796) PMCA 'Commuter' bodied Hino RM197K at Central station (2).jpg, PMCA 'Commuter' bodied Hino RM197K in old livery (decommissioned)


Ticketing

Since 16 July 2014, all buses used for Sydney services have been equipped to accept the
Opal card Opal is a contactless fare collection system for public transport services in the greater Sydney area and most other urban areas of New South Wales, Australia. Operation of the Opal system is managed by the New South Wales Government's transpor ...
ticketing system.Latest Opal roll out hits South West Sydney as new Opal Man campaign launches
Transport for NSW 2 July 2014


References


External links


Punchbowl Bus Company websitePBC Goulburn websitePBC Crookwell websiteBus Australia gallery
{{Regional NSW public transport, state=collapsed Bus transport in Sydney Bus companies of New South Wales Transport companies established in 1952 Australian companies established in 1952